The Amazon Lily Adventure
by XFangHeartX
Summary: An adaption of Amazon Lily Arc, featuring Blizzard! Read and review, no flames or hate, please! SPOILERS! Don't like, don't read.
1. The Body Parasite Mushroom

One Piece: The Amazon Lily Adventure

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><p>One Piece © Oda<p>

Blizzard © Me

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><p>Summary- After getting sent flying by Kuma, Luffy and Blizzard wind up on Amazon Lily, the Island of Maidens in the Calm Belt. The island is ruled by one of the Seven Warlords, Boa Hancock, and her sisters, all of whom hate men. Luffy and Blizzard, as always, will have to fight their way out of another jam when their lives are threatened by the Kuja warriors.<p>

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><p><strong>Ch. 1- Body Parasite Mushrooms<strong>

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><p>It was nearly sunset at the Sabaody Archipelago in the Grand Line. Some time ago, a certain crew of pirates had stopped here to seek help to get passed the Red Line.<p>

However, they were met with a horrible fate…

In Grove 41, the Rosy Life Riders, led by Duval, were sitting around the _Thousand Sunny_, home to the Straw Hat Pirates. They were expecting the crew to be here, by now, and yet they did not appear.

"Hmm…" Duval hummed.

"It looks like the Straw Hats are running late," said one of the Rosy Life Riders.

"Maybe they had a bad run-in with the people that were chasing them," said another. "There has been a bit of a disturbance down at the port."

"All the more reason for us to stay alert!" declared Duval. "I hope some idiot didn't stage a diversion in order to try and steal the ship! We must guard it until the coating guy comes! Alright, my Rosy Life Riders?"

"YES, DUV-AWESOME!"

XXX

Down at the Human Auction Hall in Grove 1...

"THEY'RE STILL OUT THERE?"

"Admiral Kizaru is after them, right now. It's only a matter of time until he catches them, St. Shalria. Just please, wait a bit longer."

"YOU DAMNED LAZY DOGS!"

St. Shalria, one of the Celestial Dragons, was outraged. Her father, her brother, and her beloved pet dog had all been assaulted by a crew of lowly pirates, and all to save a worthless mermaid.

She decided to take her anger out on the Marines.

"You allowed all our slaves to escape," Shalria began, "after the blasphemous way my Father, Brother, and poor little Salou were treated?"

Nearby, St. Roswald, St. Charloss, and Salou lay nearby, unconscious and wrapped in bandages.

"The blood of the creators of the World Government flows through our veins!" Shalria snapped. "Just who the hell do you think you are! Once those damned pirates and their mangy mutt are captured, I'll see to it that they suffer the great agonies of Hell! They will writhe on the ground and beg me for forgiveness! I SWEAR IT!"

XXX

In Shakky's Rip-Off Bar in Grove 13...

"I've got a bad feeling about this," said Camie as she continued to treat Hatchan. "I hope Luffy and the others will be okay."

"C'mon, now, Camie!" said Pappug. "Don't go saying such scary things!"

"They're strong. Nyuu~!" Hatchan said. "I'm sure they'll be just fine, Camie."

"I hope you're right, Hacchin."

"They're up against an Admiral," said Shakky. "It's not enough just to be strong." She blew out a puff of smoke. "We'll be sailing dangerous waters from here on out. A big wave like no one has ever seen before is heading our way, and they can't let it overwhelm them. The times are about to become as rough as these very waters."

Camie, Pappug, and Hatchan just stared at Shakky.

What could she possibly mean?

XXX

Meanwhile, somewhere above the sea, Monkey D. Luffy and his wolf-dog, "White Wolf" Blizzard, were flying through the sky after being sent away by Kuma's powers.

It was supposed to start out as a normal day of adventure for the Straw Hats, but alas, it appeared that the odds had finally caught up with them.

After Luffy had attacked St. Charloss, Admiral Kizaru came to the Sabaody Archipelago, and not long after he had arrived, he attacked the Straw Hats, along with the world's supposedly most defensive man, Sentomaru, a few Pacifista cyborgs, and lastly, Bartholomew Kuma, himself, the latter of which sent Luffy's crew away, one-by-one.

In the end, only Blizzard was able to stay with Luffy, and they both got sent flying together.

"DAMN IT~!" Luffy cursed as he flew the sky, holding Blizzard tight to his chest. "ZORO! NAMI! USOPP! SANJI! CHOPPER! ROBIN! FRANKY! BROOK! WHERE DID YOU GUYS GO~? THAT BEAR WARLORD GUY IS GONNA PAY FOR THIS! ALSO…HOW FAR ARE BLIZZARD AND I GONNA BE FLYING LIKE THIS?"

Blizzard just heaved a sigh. Luffy had been yelling like this for quite a while, and it was pretty much starting to hurt his sensitive. He was surprised that his voice didn't go raw, but right now, he didn't care. He was too tired to even think.

At that moment, Luffy seemed to come to a revelation.

"Maybe everybody didn't really disappear," he thought aloud. "Maybe everyone's flying through the air, like we are, Blizzard."

_Finally, he gets it,_ Blizzard thought, tiredly.

**GRRRUUUUUUUMMMBLE!** Luffy's stomach started roaring.

"I'm so hungry," he said. "I wish Sanji would've been sent flying with us…I'm so tired, too…but if we fall into the ocean, we could both drown."

By this time, Blizzard just fell asleep. He was exhausted. Luffy felt his dog's chest pressing against his with each breath. His fur was so warm and soft, in spite of the beating he took earlier. As Luffy tightened his hold on Blizzard, he, too, soon fell asleep as the two flew through the sky.

Three days and nights came and went, and the two still remained in slumber…until…

**THOMP!** They landed, right in the middle of a huge, dense jungle.

The crater that had formed…looked like that of a bear's paw print.

Luffy and Blizzard soon awoke and sat up, getting a look at their surroundings.

"We're alive!" Luffy said.

_But how?_ Blizzard thought.

Nearby, a gigantic was spying on the two, but they didn't seem to notice, at all. Normally, Blizzard would've sensed the creature, but because the boar was downwind, the wolf-dog couldn't catch its scent.

As Luffy stood up, he investigated the crater.

"I don't think we're alive just because I was made of rubber, Blizzard," said Luffy. "What's with this huge paw print?"

Blizzard just shrugged.

"I really hope the others are all right," said Luffy.

Blizzard whimpered, as if to say, "Me, too."

"Well, in any case," Luffy started as he put his hat back on his head, "we gotta find some way to get back to them! Where the heck are we, anyway? And which way back to the Sabaody Archipelago?"

_Beats me,_ Blizzard thought.

A slight pause came, but then, Luffy seemed to remember something.

"Oh, yeah!" he said as he began to search through his pockets, from which he pulled out… "Old Man Rayleigh's Vivre Card! Good we each got one, huh, Blizzard?"

**Woof!** Blizzard barked.

"This is perfect!" said Luffy. "All we have to do is follow the Vivre Card. It'll point us in the right direction, and we'll back at the Sabaody Archipelago with the others in no time!" Luffy held out the Vivre Card in his palm. It started to slowly point to the north. "North, huh? Okay, Blizzard! Let's go!"

XXX

Moments later, Luffy and Blizzard were running through the jungle, following the direction of the Vivre Card, and unbeknownst to either of them, the giant boar was giving chase, and apparently, it looked hungry.

Luffy's mind was elsewhere. He let his thoughts wander to the memory of that day…of when they were all defeated. Kizaru, Sentomaru, and Kuma…those were the three enemies that they had no chance of beating, and they were forced to escape.

He also couldn't help but think of Nami. Poor, poor Nami. He almost had her, and yet, he let her slip right through his fingers!

Lastly, he remembered that down on his knees, hugging Blizzard tightly for comfort, as he sobbed at his own helplessness.

He never felt so weak.

All Luffy could do was just let out a frustrated scream, but then…

**KRASH!** Because he wasn't looking where he was going, he ended up ramming himself into a mountain.

Only Blizzard had enough sense to stop before Luffy did.

The boar, which was now right now behind the two, panted from running after them so much.

"Ouch!" Luffy cried. "Oh, wait. That didn't hurt at all." He looked up at the mountain and groaned. "Crap! A dead end!" He then looked down at the Vivre Card. "But the Vivre Card's pointing this way. Well, there's only thing to do."

With that, Luffy stood up.

"Stand back, Blizzard!" he said. "I don't want you getting hurt."

Blizzard backed up a bit to give Luffy some room.

"Gear….THIRD!"

**FWOOM!** Luffy blew air into his thumb, causing his arm to grow huge.

"Gum-Gum…GIANT PISTOL!"

**SMASH!** Using his gigantic fist, Luffy punched a huge hole into the mountain, but it wasn't enough to go completely.

"Damn it," a shrunken Luffy cursed. "I'm too weak…"

The boar went from hungry to shocked and even a bit frightened at the sight of Luffy's power. Perhaps the boy and his dog wouldn't make such a good meal, after all, so it decided to try and sneak away before it was spotted.

"I need some food," said Luffy. "Hey, Sanji! Food!"

_Who are you calling to?_ Blizzard thought, questioningly.

"Oh, yeah," Luffy said. "He's not here."

**SNAP!** The sound of a twig snapping in two was heard, catching Luffy and Blizzard's attention. Looking back, they saw that it was the giant boar that had been chasing them, only now, it was more frightened than ever,

**GURRRRRRRGLE!** Luffy's stomach let out a huge roar.

**RRUUUUUUMBLE!** Blizzard's stomach soon followed.

Both Straw Hats licked their lips at the boar, and a sliver of drool appeared in the corner of their mouths.

The boar didn't stand a chance.

XXX

**URRRRRRRRP!** A monstrous belch reverberated throughout the air, scaring off a few birds within the area as a pillar of smoke rose into the sky.

"Ah…!" Luffy sighed, his belly now big and round. "That hit the spot."

Close by, the skeleton of the boar now lay on the ground, stripped clean of its flesh.

As for Blizzard, he wandered off somewhere to explore the island, thus leaving Luffy alone.

Big mistake.

"Man, this brings back memories," Luffy said as he patted his stomach. "Like the time when Grandpa left me alone in the jungle when I was little…uh…I don't wanna remember that."

**HIC!** Luffy hiccupped a bit as he settled his back up against a tree. His smile then sagged slightly downward as he looked up into the sky.

He couldn't help but think of the fun days back on the _Sunny_, with everyone laughing, dancing, drinking, and eating happily.

He could see Brook asking Nami to look at her panties.

He could see Franky getting bitten in the butt by Blizzard.

He could see Zoro and Sanji fighting over something simple, as always.

He could see Chopper and Usopp, dancing on the table with chopsticks up their noses and baskets in their hands.

He really missed them all.

"Who am I kidding?" Luffy asked to no one in particular as he drummed his fingers on his belly. "My tummy may be full, but my heart is empty. Blizzard may be here with me, but…it's just not enough."

As he looked over to the side, he saw a cluster of mushrooms growing in the tree bark. The caps were green and yellow with a black flower-like blotch on the top.

"Hey, cool!" said Luffy. "These are Laughing Mushrooms! Just what I need!"

**CHOMP!** Luffy took a bite off the mushroom cap, and once he did, he was suddenly overcome with laughter and was clapping his hands like a little child.

"Now everything looks so funny!" Luffy laughed. "Even thought I'm by myself!"

As Luffy came out of his laughing fit, he saw some more mushrooms. The caps on these were orange with black rings.

"I wonder what these kind do."

He soon got his answer when he bit off the mushroom, and the next thing he knew, he suddenly felt enraged.

"RRAAAAARRGH!" Luffy roared. "Now I'm MAD! I…I need another Laughing Mushroom!"

**CHOMP!** He ate a Laughing Mushroom and started laughing, again.

Luffy kept eating all these mushrooms, which caused him to have different emotions, from sad, to happy, to mad, to depressed, and others.

However, Luffy's appetite was going to get him in more trouble than he was about to know.

XXX

Moments later, Blizzard was still busy exploring the island. He didn't go too far from Luffy was. After all, he had a feeling that he didn't want to be left alone for too long.

As Blizzard kept surveying the land, he couldn't help but think of something.

He never saw Luffy look so helpless like that, before. Not just that, but he felt like he could've done something to help the others instead of just running away like Luffy had told him to do.

_I can't let enemies like the ones we ran into overwhelm me, again,_ the wolf-dog thought before he looked up into the sky. _Somehow…I have to find some way to get stronger…not just for my sake, but for the sake of the people that I hold dear…Luffy, especially._

And so, Blizzard went back to where he last left Luffy. Once he made it, he was met with the most shocking- and possibly disgusting- sight he had ever seen.

Luffy was lying down on the ground, fast asleep from a full stomach…his whole body completely covered in red-and-black mushrooms, and they seemed to be growing out of his skin!

_What the hell has this moron been doing while I was gone?_ Blizzard thought.

He ran over to Luffy and started to nudge him, hoping he'd wake up, but he wouldn't. He just kept snoring.

It was then that Blizzard remembered that Luffy was quite the heavy sleeper. The only thing that he'd wake up to was the call for food!

Blizzard looked around, whining and whimpering.

_What am I gonna do?_ he thought, frantically. _I know I should probably look for help, but this is a jungle! Who lives in the middle of a jungle?_

Suddenly, Blizzard's nose twitched. It had picked up the scent of…people?

But how?

Deciding not to think about it, Blizzard ran off to find the source of the scent. Hopefully, he wasn't too late.

Blizzard found that he didn't have to search very long, for he soon spotted where the scent was coming from: a trio of women.

The first was a young woman, possibly around the same age as Nami, with short, unruly blonde hair, long slender legs, and a slim, curvaceous figure.

The second was a very large, corpulent woman with a rather masculine-like build, and a square, thick chin.

The third was an extremely woman. Her facial features were child-like, included the wide, dark brown eyes. She had long, ginger-brown hair with locks falling down to below her shoulders from either side of her head.

Blizzard noticed that they all wore rather skimpy clothing, revealing their breasts and their hips. They also wore white capes, like the Marine Officers do. Plus, two of them seemed to have an interest in snakes, seeing as how they both had on drape around their shoulders.

It appeared that these women were out gathering food, for the tallest of all was carrying a basket of fruit.

_Women?_ Blizzard thought. _What are women doing living on an island like this? Wait a minute, what am I doing? Luffy needs help, damn it!_

Blizzard appeared out of shadows of the trees, cautiously as to not frighten the women away.

The tallest woman soon saw him, and let out a gasp, nearly dropping the basket of fruit.

"Marguerite! Sweet Pea!" she exclaimed. "A wolf! Behind you!"

The other two women, introduced as Marguerite and Sweet Pea, turned to see Blizzard, who immediately froze in his tracks. With gasps of their own, they suddenly took their snakes, grabbed an arrow, and pulled at the string, using the snakes as bows.

Blizzard swallowed the lump in his throat. He really expected these women to run away, not try to kill him!

_Think fast, Blizzard!_ the wolf-dog thought.

Blizzard then laid down law, ears folded back and tail tucked. He hadn't done this since Rio use to bully him back at Rivet Island.

Marguerite and Sweet Pea lowered their weapons.

"I don't think he's here to hurt us, Aphelandra," said Marguerite, the blonde woman.

"The saga of: he means no harm," said Sweet Pea, the large woman.

Marguerite slowly approached Blizzard, her hand held out. Blizzard sniffed her fingers before he gave them a small lick. Marguerite responded by gently scratching his ears, which caused him to wag his tail and thump his leg on the ground.

"He seems pretty friendly," said Marguerite. "But I wonder what he's doing here. I've never seen a wolf in the jungle, before, especially a white one."

"You're right," said the tall woman, Aphelandra. "Wolves aren't normally seen on the island."

"Yes, the saga of: quite a rare sight," Sweet Pea said.

Blizzard gently bit on Marguerite's cape and started to pull at it. Then, he started running around in a circle, barking and whining.

"That's odd," said Aphelandra. "He's acting rather strange, isn't he?"

"I think there's something wrong," Marguerite said. "It's like he's trying to tell us something. Maybe he wants us to follow him."

"The saga of: he's trying to take us somewhere," said Sweet Pea.

_Finally!_ Blizzard thought.

"Where do you want us to go, white wolf?" asked Marguerite.

Blizzard ran off, and the three women soon followed after him. They soon arrived at Luffy's location, and once they did, the women gasped.

Luffy was still lying there, covered in more mushrooms than before!

_Damn!_ cursed Blizzard in his head. _He's even worse than he was earlier!_

Marguerite approached Luffy, followed by Sweet Pea and Aphelandra.

"So that's it," said Marguerite. "He was trying to lead us to his friend, here. What is it?"

"Yes, the saga of: what is that thing?" Sweet Pea questioned.

"It's a human being!" Marguerite answered. "She must be the wolf's master!"

"_She"?_ Blizzard repeated in thought. _They think Luffy's a girl?_

"Do you think she's someone from the village?" Aphelandra asked.

"I can't tell with all these mushrooms growing on her body," replied Marguerite. She started to look around and saw one mushroom that looked like the ones that were growing on Luffy's body. Apparently, he must've eaten off of it, for a huge bite was taken out of it. "Here! See? She ate off of this mushroom! It's the Body Parasite Mushroom! We've a got a real problem, here! If she stays this way, the mushrooms on her body will suck all the life force right out of her!"

Blizzard swallowed the lump in his throat, once again.

"The saga of: this is an emergency!" exclaimed Sweet Pea.

"Aphelandra!" Marguerite said. "We have to get her back to the village, immediately!"

"Right!" Aphelandra said with a salute before she gently Luffy's sleeping form up.

"The saga of: back to the village!" declared Sweet Pea.

As the two women ran to take Luffy back to their home, Marguerite knelt down and pet Blizzard, again.

"Don't worry," she said. "We'll help your friend."

Blizzard smiled at Marguerite before they ran off after Sweet Pea and Aphelandra.

XXX

Moments later, Marguerite, Sweet Pea, and Aphelandra brought Luffy and Blizzard back to their home village to see the doctor: a woman by the name of Belladonna.

When Blizzard arrived, he noticed that there women and young girls everywhere, all of them wearing scanty clothes and carrying around snakes and such.

Not one man was seen.

The women were quite surprised to see someone from outside the village, but, like the other three, they, too, thought that Luffy was a girl.

Inside the doctor's clinic, the doctor, Belladonna, was a woman with long black hair and eyes. Her skin tone was like most of the women that Blizzard had seen, here: light tan. She also high cheek bones.

Like all the other women in the island, she wore rather revealing clothing, as well as a bandana tied around her forehead with red-framed eyeglasses over it.

Belladonna looked Luffy over and said, "Just pull them off of her. They should come right off."

**Pop!** Belladonna was right. The mushroom came popping off, one-by-one as Marguerite and Sweet Pea plucked them.

"There are still some roots inside of her, though," said Marguerite.

"Oh, don't worry," said Belladonna. "We'll just burn them off."

Nearby, another woman was watching the scene, sitting in a chair. She was a slim, normal-sized woman with narrowed eyes and purple eye shadow. She also had long black hair arranged in a ponytail, and, for some reason, it was like the neck of a violin, complete with little yellow pegs.

She, too, wore rather skimpy clothing, as well as a white cape and a pet snake.

"You've certainly picked up a weird one, Marguerite," said the woman.

Belladonna picked up a matchbox, struck a match, and then threw it at Luffy.

**FWOOSH!** His body was immediately set ablaze, causing him to wake up and scream.

"HOT, HOT, HOT~!"

Blizzard was about to go and help Luffy, but Marguerite stopped him.

"No, wait!" Marguerite said. "It's okay! She's just fine! Don't worry!"

Blizzard took a few calming breaths as Marguerite held him tightly.

"Belladonna," Marguerite began, "don't think you think that was a tad extreme. You scared her wolf! Not just that, but she passed out, again."

Blizzard looked down at Luffy, his body slightly burnt and his clothes charred.

"It's the only to keep them from growing back," Belladonna answered Marguerite."

"Are you sure?" asked Marguerite.

"She and the wolf like they got themselves in a bit of a fight," said Belladonna. "They've sustained some injuries to them. I'll have to treat those, too. Do me a favor. Take the girl and wash her in the river, for me, would you?"

XXX

A few more moments later, Luffy, now stripped of his clothes, was lying in a hot spring, his bare body now covered in suds as Marguerite and Sweet Pea scrubbed him down. Blizzard sat nearby, watching carefully.

Nearby, all the other villagers had surrounded the hot springs and watching, themselves.

"Thank goodness the wolf got to us when he did," said Marguerite. "It doesn't look like she's from around here, huh, Sweet Pea?"

Sweet Pea nodded in agreement. Just then, she seemed to spot something.

"Oh!" said Sweet Pea. "Look at this, Marguerite! We missed a mushroom! Here, in between her legs!" She reached into Luffy's…private area. "The saga of: there's one left."

Blizzard gasped before he turned away.

_I can't watch!_ he thought.

Sweet Pea tried to tug at the…"mushroom" in between Luffy's legs.

"That's strange," said Marguerite. "It has a different shape than the others."

"I can't get it off!" Sweet Pea said. "All it does it stretches!"

_I always did wonder if Luffy's frank could stretch,_ Blizzard thought, still looking away.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked the woman with the ponytail from earlier. "This isn't a show!"

"Well, what about you?" asked a husky-looking woman. "You're watching, too!"

"Her chest," said a younger woman with a bean-shaped head. "It's so flat. And she looks more…rugged."

"Whyat is gyoing nyon here?"

Everyone turned to see an elderly woman coming out of the crowd. She was diminutive in height, with gray hair and wrinkly faced with age. She wore a pink-bordered burgundy, a sea-green bubble belt that held up her spotted-print short skirt. In her hand was a navy blue snake, the upper half of its body curled and the lower half all stiff, like a staff.

"Oh!" Marguerite said. "Elder Nyon! There's a mushroom growing on this person's body, right in between her legs, and we can't get it off!"

"A mushroom, you say?" the old woman, known as Nyon, repeated. As she got a closer look at Luffy, she gasped. "Listen to me, all of you! This person…is nyot a woman, but…a MAN!"

Everyone gasped in horror.

"A MAN~?"

"A man?" Marguerite repeated. "I've never seen a man before!"

Blizzard dropped his ears and his eyes went wide.

_Why do I have these really odd feeling that something bad is about to happen?_ he thought.

This island is known as Amazon Lily, home of the Kuja, a nation of woman warriors. Men are absolutely forbidden to set foot on this island. If a man happened to come here…he'd be sealing his fate.

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><p>That's right, folks! It's the start of the Amazon Lily Arc! Stick around for the fun!<p> 


	2. Adventure on the Island of Maidens

**Ch. 2- Adventure on the Island of Maidens**

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><p>One Piece © Oda<p>

Blizzard © Me

* * *

><p>Amazon Lily, an island where its inhabitants are all women. Every now and then, a woman leaves the island and returns bearing a child. For some odd reason, the woman always gives birth to a daughter and never a son.<p>

In the dense jungles that surrounds the island's high mountain, there is a big hole where the village is found. The village here is built like a huge fortress and functions as a city-state. Right now, the villagers were all walking through the streets, buying food from the market place, like Sea King meat, boar meat, bear meat, the like, carrying on friendly conversation, cooking meals, picking the rice for their sake, and…fighting.

There was also an arena, here on this island, where the woman warriors would brawl to see who was the strongest.

Here on Amazon Lily, all the work here is performed by women. Even from birth, they are raised to become strong, hearty warriors, and also to possess their own unique elegance. The foolish, greedy creatures of this world that they called "men" have no place here in this paradise for maidens.

The women here on Amazon Lily were also powerful. On this island, strength is beauty.

If a man were to come to this island…he'd be snuffed out like a candle.

"Hey! The man is waking up!"

Some of the villagers were in an uproar, the reason being was because a man had appeared on their island: Monkey D. Luffy, and his dog Blizzard.

They had surrounded the village prison cell, where the boy and his dog were resting. Well, Luffy was resting, Blizzard was wide awake, watching the women who were peering through the cell bars. Among them were Marguerite, Sweet Pea, and Aphelandra.

Luffy stretched his arms as he let out a yawn and smacked his lips. Parts of his body was covered in bandages, and wrapped around his waist was a cloth to hide his privates.

(A/N: I decided to give Luffy some dignity in my adaptation of the arc. I hope that no one minds.)

"Look at him! His chest is so flat!"

"He looks so strange and rugged!"

"Look at his hair! It's all messy, and he looks so scrawny! He's probably really weak!"

"He'd been out for quite some time."

"But he was also eating in his sleep. Didn't you hear him?"

"What do men eat, anyway? Raw meat?"

"Hey," said Luffy, sleepily. "What's going on? What's with all the chatter?"

"He can speak!"

Blizzard jumped on Luffy and began to smother him with his doggy kisses, making Luffy burst into laughter.

"Hey, Blizzard!" Luffy said. "I'm glad to see you, too!"

"Blizzard?" one of the women repeated. "Does he mean the wolf?"

Luffy got out of bed, scratching head in confusion.

"Where are we?" he asked. "What was I doing? Oh, right! We were at the Sabaody Archipelago and we ended up getting separated."

"Shh…!" one of the women shushed. "Quiet, everyone! He's saying something!"

"And then, we ended up here," Luffy continued, "and I ate some boar meat and some mushrooms and…" he stopped when he realized he was missing something. "Hey. Wait! Where's my hat?"

Blizzard tapped his paw against Luffy's leg, and then pointed it to Sweet Pea, who had it resting on her head.

"Oh! There it is!" Luffy said. "Gimme that!"

**WOING!** Luffy stretched his arm out and grabbed his hat right of Sweet Pea's head. As it retracted, he set it back where it belonged: on his head.

"Ah," he sighed. "Much better!"

The woman screamed, more out of shock than horror.

"His arm stretched out, like rubber!"

"What in the world is he made of?"

"I can't believe that men's arms can stretch! I have to write this down! So interesting!"

"What is your name?" asked one of the women.

"Uh…it's Luffy," Luffy said. At that moment he realized that he was wearing nothing but the cloth wrapped around his waist. "Ah! Hey! What am I doing wearing a loin cloth?"

_It's to cover up your junk!_ Blizzard thought. _Man, you're so stupid!_

"You're not very bright, are you?" the women asked.

"It's al little drafty in here," said Luffy, "even with this on my legs. Do any of you know where my clothes are?"

"Men aren't very bright and they worry more about covering their heads than their bodies," said the woman taking notes.

"Here you are," said Marguerite as she handed Luffy a bundle: his clothes. "The ones you were all torn up and tattered, so I made you a new outfit that was like the old one."

"Gee, thanks!" Luffy said. "And I don't even know you."

Luffy quickly pulled on his new clothes, but the moment, he was soon met with a sense of dread.

He was now wearing a pair of red pants, which was fine in itself, but the vest…the vest was so…girly! It was decorated with flowers and little frills, and…it just sucked Luffy's masculinity right out of him and caused him to shudder.

Blizzard tried hard to stifle his snickering.

"The hell…?" Luffy murmured.

"Isn't it nice?" asked Marguerite. "I added little flowers and frills to make it look cuter!"

"Flowers and frills should always be worn on casual clothes!" said the woman who was taking notes. "You certainly have great taste, Marguerite!"

"Thank you!"

"Look at him! He's so happy, he's quivering with joy!"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Luffy shouted. "I'M A MAN!"

Suddenly, the women lined up and pulled out their snakes, causing them to taking the shape of bows, and prepared to fire arrows at Luffy and Blizzard.

_Oh, crap!_ Blizzard thought. _Something tells me you shouldn't have done that, Luffy!_

"H-hey!" Luffy stammered. "Hang on a minute! What's going on?"

"Take aim!" shouted the lady with the ponytail.

"This is his true nature! He's like an animal!"

"We saved his life, and yet he yells at us like he's some sort of vicious fiend!"

"Savage!"

"Your words and actions have proven that you lack all decency, man!" said the lady with the ponytail. "This land is not for your kind!"

"But, Kikyo," said Sweet Pea, "isn't it a bit too harsh to kill just because he yelled at us? I feel a bit bad for him, and his wolf, too!"

_Actually, I'm half-wolf,_ Blizzard thought.

"Hey, hold on a sec!" Luffy said. "You guys saved my life? What happened to me? You gotta tell me! Please!"

"You ate a mushroom that would've killed you," Belladonna began before she craned her head to Marguerite, "if your wolf hadn't brought this one to you and saved you!"

"Oh, I see!" Luffy said. "I didn't know! Thanks! I'm sorry for whining about the clothes! Can you please not shoot us now?"

"We will not listen to your useless apologies or excuses!" shouted the ponytail woman, known as Kikyo. "This is Amazon Lily, the Empire of Women! Men are absolutely forbidden to set on this island! That has been our iron law for centuries!"

"An empire of women?" Luffy repeated.

_Now you notice?_ Blizzard thought, questioningly.

"In all our history," Kikyo continued, "this law has never been broken! Now that you have recovered, we shall show you no mercy!"

"Now that she mentions it, she's right," Luffy said, completely not paying any attention. "There aren't any men around here, is there? So weird."

Blizzard pulled on Luffy's pants-leg, trying to tell him to be aware of the real matter at hand.

_Can't you see that we're about to be a couple of pin cushions?_ the wolf-dog thought, questioningly.

"Marguerite, Sweet Pea, Aphelandra…" said Kikyo. "I'm only doing this for your sakes! If the Snake Princess were here, she would punish those responsible for this incident! You three would be condemned for the crime of bringing a man into the village! It's best if we kill the man now and he is never mentioned again! KILL HIM, AND HIS WOLF, TOO!"

_Oh, damn, damn, DAMN!_ Blizzard cursed in thought.

"No, wait!" Luffy shouted. "Please, let me and my dog, go! We have to find our friends!"

It was too late. The arrows had been fired and were heading straight for Luffy and Blizzard. It appeared that their death was inevitable, but then…**KRASH!** Luffy kicked his foot through the hoof, creating a big enough hole for himself and Blizzard to escape through, and not a moment too late. The arrows hitting the wall behind them, causing it to crumble.

"They burst through the roof!"

"After them!"

Luffy and Blizzard ran along the rooftops, the arrows barely missing them as they went and causing whatever of the roof that was behind them to crumble.

_Those are not normal arrows!_ thought Blizzard.

"They're faster than they look," Kikyo muttered. "Aphelandra!"

"Right!" Aphelandra said as she leapt up to the rooftop, right in front of Luffy with her arms out. "I'm sorry we have to do this to you!"

Blizzard managed to brake to a halt in time, Luffy wasn't able to stop, for he ended up running into the tall woman's bosom and bouncing off her chest and towards the ground below.

Blizzard jumped down behind him, just when the women warriors were about to fire their arrows at him, once more.

**THUNK!** The arrows landed behind Luffy, who was being pulled away by Blizzard, who had his teeth clamped on the back of his vest.

"Oh, wait!" Luffy said, crossing his arms. "Blizzard, hang on! The Vivre Card! It's in the pocket of my old pants!"

_Are you freaking kidding?_ Blizzard questioned in thought. _Can't we worry about that when our lives aren't in danger?_

Luffy spotted Marguerite within the crow of women, preparing to fire another arrow at him.

"There she is!" he said before **WROING!** He stretched his arm, coiled it around Marguerite, and reeled her in. "Sorry, but you have something I need to get back from you! Blizzard! Let's get outta here!"

**RUFF!** Blizzard let out a muffled bark before **TMP! TMP! TMP!** He jumped up the cliff-face, carrying Luffy and Marguerite with him.

"Let go of me!" Marguerite yelled. "SOMEONE, HELP~!"

"Damnation!" Kikyo cursed. "He and that wolf have captured Marguerite!"

XXX

On the other side of the rock wall, Luffy, Blizzard, and Marguerite were now falling down into the jungle, the latter of the three screaming the whole way down.

"Gum-GUUUUM…BALLOON!"

**BLOOMP!** Luffy expanded, causing Blizzard and Marguerite to bounce off of his giant belly and land safely on the ground.

Marguerite panted as she looked over to Luffy and Blizzard, who were busy dusting themselves off.

"Hey," said Luffy. "You all right?"

"Stay back!" Marguerite barked, holding a knife up. "Both of you!"

**Snurk!** Blizzard grunted in disapproval.

_Is that the you thank people after they save your life?_ he asked in thought.

"You, man!" Marguerite said. "Did you…suddenly get fat?" She then looked up at the stone wall. "Did you and that wolf…jump from up there? You two must be crazy! I mean…I thought I was about to die! It's a miracle I even survived!" She then turned back to Luffy and Blizzard, pointing her knife at them again. "You stay away from me! You men must carry some kind of a virus! Can all men suddenly get big and fat like you just did?"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Luffy said, hands raised. "Calm down, will ya? Look, I don't have a virus or anything, and I don't feel like explaining things, so for now, you can just keep thinking that men just get fat."

_Uhh…_ Blizzard thought. _You know what? No comment._

"Anyhow," Luffy said, "there was something in the pocket of my old pants that I need back. You wouldn't happen to have it, would you?"

Marguerite pulled out a small scrap of paper: Rayleigh's Vivre Card.

"You mean this little piece of paper?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's it!" Luffy said as he swiped it from her fingers. "I don't know what Blizzard and I would do if we lost this! Thanks a lot for holding onto it for us!"

"Well, there was something written on it," said Marguerite, "so I kept it, in case it was something important."

"Oh, it is," Luffy said before he held the Vivre Card for Marguerite to see. "Look."

The Vivre Card moved, slightly in Luffy's palm.

"It moved!" Marguerite said. "How strange!"

"You see, it's like this," Luffy said. "My crew and I kind of got into this big mess, and everything, and my dog, Blizzard," he pointed to Blizzard, "and I ended up getting separated from them and we ended up here on your island. We each got these little pieces of paper, so that way, we'd be able to get back together. My crew is strong, so they should be fine." He looked up to Marguerite and chuckled. "Gee, all I've been doing is thanking you, uh…what's your name, again?"

"M-Marguerite. And you're…Luffy?"

"That's right!" Luffy said with his usual grin. "Monkey D. Luffy!"

"You kind of look like a monkey," Marguerite commented.

"Heh-heh-heh!" Luffy chuckled. "I know! I get that a lot."

Marguerite's lips curved upwards into a tiny smile. She knew that men weren't supposed to be here, and yet…she couldn't help but feel rather warm inside, making small talk with this boy.

_Maybe he's not so bad, after all,_ she thought before she suddenly shook her head. _What am I thinking? He's a man, for crying out loud! As such, he must disposed of…although…I could wait a little._

Blizzard just smiled at the pair.

_Looks like Luffy's found himself a new friend,_ the wolf-dog thought. _But I better keep a close eye on these two. I don't want them to getting TOO close. Otherwise, Nami's gonna blow her top._

"So, Luffy," said Marguerite. "You mentioned something about a crew?"

"Yeah!" Luffy replied. "I'm a pirate captain! You know what pirates are, don't ya?"

"You?" Marguerite questioned. "A pirate? The empress of Amazon Lily is a pirate, too."

Blizzard raised an eyebrow, inquisitively.

_A pirate empress…?_ Blizzard repeated in thought. _Wait…could she mean…? Nah…it couldn't be._

"So, there's a crew of lady pirates?" asked Luffy. "Are they strong?"

"What a stupid question," said Marguerite. "Only our finest warriors are permitted to be aboard the pirate ship, so yes, of course they're strong! All the women of our nation look up to the almighty Snake Princess. She is strong, proud, and the most beautiful woman in all the world! The Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock, and her two younger sisters, protect this land."

Blizzard's eyes widened and he gasped. He felt his heart sink into his stomach, and he swallowed the lump in his throat.

Luffy sensed his dog's nervousness and put a hand on his head.

"Hey, buddy," he said. "You okay?"

"What's wrong with him?" Marguerite asked.

_I knew 'Pirate Empress' sounded familiar!_ Blizzard thought. _That's the alias of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Boa Hancock!_ He looked up to the sky. _That means…Luffy and I are on HER home turf! We're in deep crap!_

XXX

Back in the village, the women were still looking for Luffy and Marguerite. However, in one of the lookout towers, one of them, a woman with dark red hair, saw something on the horizon of the sea, slowly coming into view.

"Oh, no!" she said.

"What do you see, Venus*?" Kikyo called.

"The Snake Princess's ship is on its way here!" the woman, known as Venus, called down.

Kikyo gasped silently.

"Damn," she cursed under her breath.

"Kikyo," said Aphelandra. "That man and his wolf took Marguerite and jumped away into the jungle."

"This is bad," said Kikyo. "We have to take care of this business as quick as we possibly can! Warriors! To the jungle! We must strike down the man and his beast and rescue Marguerite! Our great Snake Princess is coming home!"

* * *

><p>*In this chapter is a cameo appearance of Venus, an OC of lyndseylove1 on DeviantART. She asked me to have her OC cameo in this story.<p>

Review, please!


	3. Enter Pirate Empress Boa Hancock

**Ch. 3- Enter: Pirate Empress Boa Hancock**

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><p>One Piece © Oda<p>

Blizzard © Me

* * *

><p>Moments later, in the jungle…<p>

"So, you don't like frills?"

"Uh-uh."

"Men are such strange creatures."

"Whatever. Thanks for taking them off for me."

Luffy, who was taking his bandages off, was now dressed in a sky blue vest, which was free of flowers and little frills.

"Well, Blizzard and I have to leave, now, Marguerite," said Luffy. "We gotta go find our friends."

"You two sure are restless, aren't you?" Marguerite asked.

"As long as everyone's okay," said Luffy, "then it's all right! If we're alive, then we can still fight!" He growled as his mind flooded with images of Kuma, Sentomaru, and Kizaru. "Blizzard…you and I are gonna become stronger than all of those guys!"

**WOOF!** Blizzard barked.

"Okay! Let's go!" Luffy shouted before…he started running on his hands. "I'll go all the way back to the Sabaody Archipelago on my hands! That ought to make me stronger!"

_How is that possible?_ Blizzard asked in thought.

Luffy suddenly braked to a stop.

"Oh, wait!" he said. "Hey, Marguerite! Do you think you can give me and Blizzard a ship?"

"You sure have a lot of energy, don't you?"

XXX

A moment later…

"WHAT?" Luffy yelled. "You don't have a ship to give us? AND THIS PLACE IS IN THE CALM BELT?"

"That's right," Marguerite said. "This is the Island of Maidens in the Calm Belt. The giant Sea Kings use it as their breeding grounds, so that's why normal sea travelers never come here. The few people who get washed ashore are mostly already dead."

"But you said that you had a crew of pirates here!" Luffy said. "How can they sail the Calm Belt?"

"Because the ship of the Snake Princess is drawn by two fierce, poisonous sea snakes called Yudas," said Marguerite. "The Sea Kings won't dare attack them. However, Amazon Lily only has one Pirate Ship."

"Damn!" Luffy cursed as he slumped on the ground. "There's no wind current here, either! How are Blizzard and I gonna get back to Sabaody, now? Should I just try and build a raft and row the whole way back?"

"You can't be serious," Marguerite murmured.

_Oh, believe me,_ Blizzard thought. _He is._

"That's it!" Luffy exclaimed. "I'll make me and Blizzard a raft and I'll row the whole way!"

"THAT'S YOUR PLAN?" Marguerite questioned.

Blizzard slapped a paw over his eyes in disbelief.

_This won't end well,_ he thought.

XXX

"Finished!"

Luffy was now in the water, standing upon a poorly-crafted raft.

"Are you serious?" Marguerite asked. "Look at that thing? It's already falling apart!"

The moment Marguerite said that, **KRASH! SPLASH!** Luffy's raft came apart, and he sank into the water.

"AAAAAAAAHH~!" Luffy gurgled/screamed.

_Dammit, Luffy!_ Blizzard cursed in thought before he jumped in after his master.

"Wait! Hang on!" Marguerite cried as she followed suit.

XXX

A few more moments later, Marguerite had helped Blizzard pull Luffy on dry island and revived the waterlogged boy, who was now lying on the ground, trying to catch his breath.

"I helped save him, again," Marguerite began, "but I probably shouldn't have. Can't men swim, at all?"

"Ugh…" Luffy groaned. "That was a close one! I really thought I was done for, that time! If only Franky was here. He could build us a boat and we would be back at the Sabaody Archipelago in no time! What should we do, Blizzard?"

_Why are you asking me?_ Blizzard thought. _I'm just here to keep you from feeling alone! I don't have all the answers, you know! I'm just a dog!_

"I don't know what to do with you!" Marguerite said as she wrung her cape of the water. "You should've just ran somewhere far away so that no one would find you!" She put her cape back on. Then, she took her snake bow and prepared to fire another arrow at Luffy as he was lying down. "If I keep spending too much time with you, like this," she said, "I might start to like you."

Luffy gasped and raised his hands up.

"Hey!" he cried. "Wait a second! What are you doing?"

**TWANG!** Marguerite fired an arrow at Luffy, who jumped out of the line of fire, causing the arrow to destroy the ground he was standing on. **KRASH!**

**TWANG! TWANG! TWANG!** Marguerite fired more arrows at Luffy and Blizzard, who barely managed to dodge them in time. **SMASH!** The arrows struck a tree, causing it to fall apart.

_Just when I thought we could trust her!_ Blizzard thought.

Luffy picked up one of the fired arrows.

"What's with these arrows, anyway?" he asked. "They can smash stone walls and all that stuff!" He attempted to bend the arrow in his hands. "They must be as hard as-"

**Snap!** The arrow snapped in half.

"What are you talking about?" questioned Marguerite. "The arrows that I fire are enveloped in Haki energy! That's what gives them their destructive power!"

"Haki?" Luffy repeated. "Wanna tell me what that is?"

_It's that weird power you've been using!_ Blizzard thought. _Remember? When you knocked out Duval's cow just by staring at him? Oh, why do I even both-_

"There they are!"

Blizzard looked back upon the voices of Marguerite's comrades, and judging by the sound of their voices and their footsteps, it appeared they were getting close.

_Uh-oh,_ he thought. _That's our cue to skidoo!_

The group of women came charging towards Luffy, Blizzard, and Marguerite like a troop of monkeys in the trees!

"Marguerite!" Kikyo called. "Are you all right?"

"Girls!" Marguerite called back.

"Yikes!" Luffy yelped before he made a run for it. "Blizzard! Let's scram!"

_You don't gotta tell me twice!_ the wolf-dog exclaimed in his head before he followed after Luffy.

"The the man and his wolf are escaping!" exclaimed one of the women. "Kill them at once!"

As the women gave chase, Marguerite was soon joined by Sweet Pea.

"Marguerite!" she said. "The saga of: are you all right?"

"I'm fine, but-" Marguerite began.

"We know!" Sweet Pea said, cutting her off. "Saga of: the man and his wolf are escaping! We have to deal with them, fast! The Snake Princess is coming!"

"What?" Marguerite questioned.

XXX

In the waters of the Calm Belt, close to Amazon Lily, two ships were seen on the surface. One of them happened to be a Marine battleship, and the other was what appeared to be a pirate ship, and attached to the stern were two gigantic snakes. Close to the Marine ship, a Sea King's now floated upon the surface of the water…dead.

"You lot have got a lot of guts to come out here to the lair of these beasts."

"Actually, they already started to try and attack us! The sea prism stones that we've attached to our ship prevent them from sensing our presence, but if we stay anchored here for too long, then the Sea Kings are liable to see us."

On the Marine ship, a man was seen standing among the sailors. Judging by how all the other Marines were silenced by his presence and that they all stood stiff with weapons at their sides, he must've been a superior. He is a man with a Mohawk and a mustache. He wears the standard Marine uniform, consisting of a purple-and-white pinstriped suit with a Marine coat draped over his shoulders, like a cape. Underneath his suit, a dark blue shirt and a lighter blue tie. He is of average and very well built. In his hand is a katana with the tsuba designed as a flower with eight petals.

He is Vice-Admiral Momonga, and right now, he is currently in the Calm Belt on official government business.

"You may not like it," he said, "but an agreement between you Kuja Pirates and the World Government only permits us to sail within two miles of Amazon Lily, which forces us to wait in the middle of these monsters' spawning grounds."

The Marine sailors began to whisper amongst themselves.

"They say that the ruler of the Kuja people is a ruthless monster that can turn people to stone…!"

"No way…! You're kidding me!"

"C'mon, you guys…! I'm new to this thing…! Don't go scaring me like that…!"

On the pirate ship, it is revealed that Momonga was talking to a woman of average size with jet black hair parted on one side and an earring on each ear. She wears long, black stockings with straps that reached up to her matching colored panties. Around her waist is a decorative belt of rings that is attached to a small flap of blue cloth to cover her rear. Her top is a small, orange-flowered tank top with a window hole in the middle that seems almost too small for her size. She has a quiver of arrows slung around her back and a pink snake wrapped around her shoulder. Like Marguerite and all the other women back at Amazon Lily, she wore a white cape upon her shoulders.

Her name is Ran.

"So I assume you killed that Sea King then?" she asked, pointing to the dead Sea King nearby the Marine ship.

"Cannons weren't very effective," replied Momonga, "so I jumped onto its belly and hacked it up from the inside. I'll be glad when we're clear of these accursed waters."

"Well, it appears you're not all talk," said Ran.

"I've been waiting for your return, Kuja Pirates!" declared Momonga. "I am Vice-Admiral Momonga of the Marines! WARLORD OF THE SEA, 'PIRATE EMPRESS' BOA HANCOCK! SHOW YOURSELF! I'VE COME FOR YOU!"

There was a pause.

Behind Ran were more women, all wearing skimpy clothing like Ran.

"Look!" said one women, who had on a rather perpetual happy expression and a childish figure. "It's a man! A man! What disgusting creatures!"

"Unfortunately for you," Ran started, "the Snake Princess refuses to come out!"

"There's your answer!" said a tall, fat woman.

"It's been a long time since I've seen a man!" exclaimed a tall, well-endowed woman with bushy, ginger brown hair and a perpetual grin. "When they see the flag of the Kuja, even pirates and merchants flee in terror! ZAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"What a vulgar laugh," said a woman with an opened up black, orange-frilled jacket and a cigarette in her mouth, as well as a bazooka slung around her back.

"That's not what her message says," Momonga said. "It says she will comply with the summons, but it appears she has no intention of coming."

**WHUP!** Momonga tossed something to Ran, who caught it in her hand. It was a rolled-up newspaper.

"Here's this morning's paper," said Momonga. "The time and place of the public execution of Portgas D. 'Fire Fist' Ace, Second Unit Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, has been set, and the die has been cast. The World Government has issued a mandatory summons to the Seven Warlords! Refusal to comply with these orders will result in the nullification of all treaties and revocation of the title of Warlord! DO YOUR HEAR ME, BOA HANCOCK?"

**CHAK!** A door opened, and a mysterious figure came walking out of the room. The figure stopped in front of a little kitten, which was playing with a ball.

"Who…" a feminine voice said before…**THWAK!** The owner kicked the kitten away. "WHO PUT THIS KITTEN IN MY PATH!"

A woman grabbed the kitten, who hissed and snarled at the figure.

"My apologies!" she said. "It was my fault!"

"Try to be more careful in the future."

"So, you finally show yourself," Momonga said, "Boa Hancock. Men! Keep your eyes open!"

The Marines felt their jaws drop, their eyes bug out, their hearts drumming, and their faces turning hot.

"It's her!"

"The-the Pirate Empress!"

"Her beauty is truly beyond compare!"

Three women appeared on the deck of the Kuja pirate ship.

The first was a large, muscled, and obese woman, about the size of a regular giant. Her long, wavy, orange hair was arranged like that of a pattern on a cobra's hood. She also wore a long, white cape.

The second was an equally large but slim woman with wintergreen hair whose face had the resemblance of a snake, complete with a disproportionately larger and wider head to her body and a long, forked tongue. She wore a very revealing outfit, as well as a white cape like most of the Kuja wore.

The last was a woman with a well proportioned figure. She is very tall and slender with long, black hair, a very large bosom, a high forehead, and light brown eyes which had long, voluminous lashes. She wore a revealing red blouse with the insignia of the Kuja Pirates colored in green-and-pink, along with a long, white cape like the rest of the Kuja wore, and a pair of red, high-heel pumps.

They are three sisters, Boa Marigold, the youngest, Boa Sandersonia, the middle sister, and their eldest, Boa Hancock, otherwise known as the "Pirate Empress" and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

"So," said Hancock, "you've come at last. You Government dogs are so tedious. The response I sent you was nothing but a lie! I have no intention of fighting in your petty little war! But I _will_ keep my title of Warlord. Now…give me all your cargo and treasure."

"What are you saying?" Momonga questioned. "Don't be a damn, spoiled brat! Do you honestly think we'd accept such unreasonable demands?"

"Hurry up!"

"She's so lovely!"

"Give her whatever she wants!"

Momonga turned and saw the Marines preparing to give their haul of cargo and treasure that they've confiscated from pirates over to Hancock's ship with hearts in their eyes and drooling mouths.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU FOOLS DOING?" Momonga barked. "STOP IT!"

The Marines suddenly snapped out of their love-stricken states.

"What happened?" asked one, a rookie. "All of a sudden…I felt like I HAD to obey her!"

"Anyway," said Momonga before he turned back to Hancock, "exactly one week from today, Portgas D. Ace will be put to death. His execution will take place at Marineford, the town where Marine HQ is located. 'Fire Fist' Ace is a condemned man. One week from now, Whitebeard is certain to make his move! Under the leadership of the 3 Admirals, we will focus our efforts on intercepting him! Now, either you relinquish your title of Warlord, or answer the summons! Make your decision, Boa Hancock! My patience is wearing thin, and your time is almost up!"

There was a slight pause.

"But I like being one of the Seven Warlords," said Hancock in a small, pleading voice. "Let me keep that title. I hate the World Government and simply refuse to obey their orders…but…suppose there were an accident. Suppose the Marines sent to escort me to Headquarters…were all mysteriously turned to stone."

The Marines gasped as they drew their weapons.

"Is she threatening us?"

"Be ready for anything! I heard that when they find ships that have ransacked by the Kuja Pirates, they're always drifting crewless in the seas with not one living soul on board! Just strange stone effigies of the crewmen."

"You heard what I said, Hancock," Momonga growled. "We will NOT accept any demands from a spoiled brat!"

"Hmm-hmm," Sandersonia chuckled. "Big sister can be so nasty, but in the end, she always gets she wants."

"Yes," Marigold agreed, "and for good reason!"

Hancock jumped off of the head of the Yuda and aboard the Marine ship.

"No matter what I do," she began, "whether I kick little kittens, or tear off your ear, or even commit a murder, I will always be forgiven. Why is this, you ask? Yes…it is simply because…I am beautiful!"

The sound of adoring screams and swoons soon filled the air. The Marines had fallen madly in love with the Pirate Empress, and even the Kuja Pirates were screaming like crazy with hearts in their eyes and blushes on their cheeks.

"AAAAAAAH!" Ran screamed, lovingly. "THE SNAKE PRINCESS~!"

"OOOOHHHH~!" the Marines swooned.

"STOP THAT, YOU IMBECILES!" Momonga snapped.

Suddenly, Hancock put her hand behind her head, which was arched up to the sky.

"Let the lust in your hearts," she started before she threw her hands forward, making the shape of a heart, "turn your flesh into stone!"

Momonga quickly snapped to attention.

"Love-Love MELLOW!"

**SHOON!** Hancock emitted some sort of heart-shaped beam from her hands, right at the Marines, who cheered and cried out her name with throbbing hearts before **KRINK!** They all turned into stone statues!

The only one who remained unaffected by it was Momonga…who had stabbed his hand with a dagger.

"I see," said Hancock. "You forced the wicked thoughts from your mind with pain. Your desperate had saved you. Your men, on the other hand."

"The fools," Momonga hissed.

"Now, you are alone," said Hancock.

"Even so," said Momonga, "one is not _zero_."

Hancock re-boarded her ship and declared, "We shall now return to our peaceful port on Amazon Lily!"

"Yes, Snake Princess!" the Kuja Pirates shouted.

As the Yudas pulled the pirate ship away…

"BOA HANCOCK!"

Hancock turned upon hearing Momonga calling her.

"I will wait her until the time limit expires," said the Vice-Admiral. "I cannot and WILL not return, empty-handed. If you don't return within two days, the treaties will be nullified."

Hancock simply smirked at him and said, "Do as you wish."

* * *

><p>Review, please!<p> 


	4. Bath Time

**Ch. 4- Bath Time**

* * *

><p>One Piece © Oda<p>

Blizzard, Hibiscus, Daffodil, and Buttercup © Me

* * *

><p>"OPEN THE GATE!"<p>

**KREEEEEK!** The huge gate to the docks of Amazon Lily opened up for the Kuja pirate ship. Once the ship entered, Hancock, her sisters, and the Kuja crew were soon greeted by a sea of cheers and screams.

"OUR SNAKE PRINCESS HAS RETURNED~!"

"WELCOME HOME!"

"WELCOME BACK, KUJA WARRIORS!"

"ZAHAHAHA~!" Daisy laughed. "We brought back lots of loot!"

"RAN! DAISY!"

"Wow! Look at them!" said a little girl. "Aren't they great? I wanna be just like them when I grow up!"

"Gorgon Sisters~!"

"Snake Princess~!"

"Her beauty is truly unmatched!"

Hancock, Sandersonia, Marigold, and the rest of the Kuja disembarked from their ship and walked into the city. Accompanying Hancock was a huge anaconda with white-and-pink scales, blue hair, a darker blue scarf around its neck, and a horned skull on its head.

Hancock approached a woman who was standing before a traditional Japanese carriage, which was being carried by two large monkeys.

"Welcome back, Snake Princess!" said the woman. "We've prepared a monkey carriage for you!"

"Good," Hancock said. "Did anything happen in my absence?"

"No, Snake Princess," answered the woman. "Nothing at all."

Hancock stared at the woman for a moment before she entered her carriage.

"Very well, then," she said as she was carried off with her sisters following behind her.

The rest of the Kuja, meanwhile, were busy unloading their cargo. They had brought back many things, such as iron ore, grog, gunpowder, meat, and even some crops from the north.

"We looted 2 merchant vessels and a pirate ship," said Ran. "We also took some cargo of a ship from the World Government."

"Did you happen to bring back any books, Ran?"

Ran looked down and saw Elder Nyon approaching her.

"Oh, Elder Nyon!" she said. "All I have is this newspaper from Central." She pulled the newspaper that Momonga had given her. "Here. You have it."

"Thank you, child," Nyon said as she took the newspaper.

XXX

Meanwhile, at the Kuja Castle, Hancock was being welcomed by some of her servants.

"Ah, Snake Princess! Welcome home!"

"Welcome home, Snake Princess! It's truly a pleasure to see you!"

"Enishida…what in the world is this?"

Inside the palace, Hancock's maid, Enishida, had shown her a clay statue of the Pirate Empress.

"The village made this for you as a gift, Snake Princess!" said Enishida. "It was made out of clay! They worked so hard on it and even painted it! I was going to send them away, but I when saw them carrying it so carefully into the castle, they looked so cute and sweet, I thought that…"

"I see," said Hancock as she put her hand to the clay statue's smiling face. "So they made a statue of me out of wet dirt."

**SMASH!** Hancock threw the statue down on the floor, shattering it into pieces.

"It's garbage!" she exclaimed. "This dreadful thing would ruin the look of the whole room!"

"Snake Princess!" cried Enishida.

"Don't ever bring such FILTH into my castle!" Hancock ordered as she kept walking by. "Throw that nasty thing away and clean up the mess!"

"Y-yes, Snake Princess," Enishida said with a slight stammer before she looked to the doorway. There, she saw three small girls, about the age of 6, all with slightly round, plump faces and wearing rather skimpy clothing like the older women of the village, though not as revealing, but with different hair colors- blue, blonde, and dark brown- peeking into the room…all with big, sad, teary eyes.

"Oh, girls," Enishida whispered, her heart going out for the three children.

"Enishida!" Hancock called.

"Yes, Snake Princess!" Enishida called back as she ran to her ruler's side.

As Enishida left, the three girls also decided to leave. After all, children weren't allowed in the castle, and they happened to sneak in with the statue that they had worked so hard on making.

Truth be told…they were crushed.

"Auntie Marguerite said that the Snake Princess would like our present," said the blue-haired girl.

"Don't worry, Hibiscus," said the blonde one. "We'll just have to keep trying."

"Daffodil's right!" said the brown-haired girl. "Maybe we can try something better!"

"Thanks, Buttercup," said Hibiscus, "but…no matter what we do…it'll never be good enough for the Snake Princess."

"What are you three doing in here? No children allowed in the Kuja Castle!"

The three sisters gasped before they ran down the corridor, just as one of the guards gave chase.

XXX

"I did not see the city's defenders at the wharves," said Hancock as she was headed towards her bed.

"About that, Snake Princess," Enishida started, "there was a fierce monkey and an even fiercer wolf that had appeared from the jungle! The defenders went out to hunt them! They'll be back soon, though! I apologize that they weren't there to greet you the moment you and your sisters returned!"

"A monkey and a wolf, you say?" Hancock questioned as her anaconda slithered onto the bed, and then skillfully coiled up into the shape of a chair. "Whatever…"

"Would you like a drink, Snake Princess?" asked Enishida.

"Rice wine," Hancock answered as she sat herself on her anaconda, taking a relaxing position.

"Yes, your beautifulness," Enishida said.

"I'd like some, too!"

Hancock and Enishida looked up and saw Nyon entering.

"Granny Nyon?" Hancock said with the utmost displeasure. "What are you doing here, in MY private chamber?"

"Elder Nyon?" cried one of the palace servants.

"Where did she come from?" asked another.

"I can get enter hyere anytime I please!" Nyon replied.

"Throw this peasant out!" Hancock demanded.

"Wait, Snake Princess!" Nyon exclaimed.

"Don't you mean, 'Your Highness'?" Hancock questioned.

"Pardon me, 'Your Highness'," Nyon, reluctantly, said. "There's a ship from the World Government anchored offshore. Have they nyot come for you? They brought you a summons from the World Government, didn't they?"

"That's right," Hancock answered. "They want me to go to some petty war."

"So why are you nyot going?" Nyon asked the Pirate Empress. "Go nyow! If you do, the treaties the World Government had signed for you will hold. You are strong enough, nyow, that you will nyot be killed in battle."

"But…" Hancock said before she put a hand to her mouth in a rather scared manner. "But…I'm scared to go…! What if I get hurt?"

Nyon stared at Hancock with hearts in her eyes.

_Aw~! She's like a little puppy-dog!_ the elderly woman thought to herself before she started to swat her hand in the air, angrily.

"DO NYOT START THAT WITH ME!" Nyon shouted.

"Elder Nyon," Enishida said, sweat-dropping.

"Right nyow," Nyon began, "this nyation is being protected by your rank of Warlord! In the past, the Calm Byelt was a powerful deterrent that protected us and our land from outside enemies."

Enishida returned with a glass of rice wine for Hancock, which she took.

"But times have changed," Nyon continued. "The people from the World Government have built ships using nyew technology that allows them to navigate these waters, but because you are a Warlord, they do nyot dare come to our island, in spite of your piratical activities! Without your title, Hancock, Amazon Lily will be just nyation of pirates that would be brought to ruin! Think of your people!"

"You worry too much," Hancock said as she took a sip of her rice wine.

"I am old," Nyon said as she took a crystal ball onto her snake staff. "I could drop dead at any given moment. Gaze into my crystal ball and behold your future!"

Inside the crystal ball, the words, "GO NOW" appeared…painted on.

"YOU DISGUST ME!" Hancock shouted. "GET THIS PEASANT OUT OF MY CASTLE, RIGHT NOW!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" said two women as they grabbed Hancock.

"Wait, Snake Princess!" cried Nyon.

Hancock stood up and approached Nyon. "Just WHO do you think you are? Your reign was over, three generations ago…Gloriosa."

Nyon growled at the sound of her former name.

"Even if I were to ruin this nation on a whim," Hancock continued as she started to lean back, her finger pointed at Nyon, "everyone in the world will forgive me. Why? Because…I am beautiful!" By this time, she had leaned all the way back, looking all the way up to the ceiling, her finger still pointed at Nyon.

"There it is! That's what the Snake Princess does when she's looking down on someone! She'll look down on you, so much, that she looks up!"

"Though you were once the empress of this nation," Hancock started, still "looking down" on Nyon, "you abandoned your people and went to the outer seas, you treacherous, old fool!" **GRAB!** She grabbed Nyon by her hair and pulled her up so that she could see her. "When you shamelessly returned, we only accepted you back because of the benevolence of the previous empress!"

"And that is why I live on the outskirts of the village!" Nyon countered.

"Then you should've stayed there," Hancock hissed. "It's an outrage for you to presume to tell me, the empress, what I can and cannot do!" She turned and walked over to a nearby window.

"Snake Princess!" cried Hancock's servants.

"Still," Hancock said, "I must say that I admire your passion. I will yield to you."

Nyon gasped, a smile appearing on her face.

"You understand, then, Snake Princess?" she asked. "Thank goodness! Thank you, so much! So does this mean that you will nyow go?"

Hancock simply smirked and said, "Of course not. Learn your place, fool."

Nyon gasped, this time in horror.

"Now…BEGONE!"

**KRASH!** Hancock threw Nyon out the window!

"DAMN YOU, HANCOCK~!"

"S-Snake Princess!"

"Weren't you being a bit too harsh on the poor old woman?"

Hancock turned to the two servants with an apologetic look in her eyes.

"It was accident," she said.

The servants immediately began to swoon, lovingly in adoration.

"Yes, yes! Of course! We understand!"

XXX

Outside, Nyon landed gracefully on her feet after she had been thrown out of the castle. The triplets, Buttercup, Hibiscus, and Daffodil, happened to see her after they had escaped the guard.

"Elder Nyon?" Daffodil questioned, bewildered.

"Where'd she come from?" Buttercup asked. "She fell from the sky!"

"What happened, Elder Nyon?" asked Hibiscus.

"I'll just say this," Nyon replied. "I may be old, but I am still a warrior of the Kuja! I have nyot withered yet!"

The three sisters just tilted their heads in puzzlement.

**BONG! BONG! BONG!** The sound of a huge bell ringing filled the air.

"IT IS TIME FOR THE SNAKE PRINCESS'S BATH! WHOEVER IS INSIDE THE CASTLE, CLEAR OUT, NOW!"

Inside the castle dining hall, women were leaving their plates and unfinished food behind as they stampeded out of the room and out the castle. Even the servants were starting to clear out.

Once everyone was outside, the castle gates were closed and locked up tight, so as to ensure that no one would enter.

"For the next two hours, no one will be allowed inside the castle!"

Hibiscus, Buttercup, and Daffodil were now walking down the streets together. They happened to see Ran, who was busy eating her lunch.

"Excuse us," Buttercup said. "Miss Ran?"

Ran turned to the three half-pints.

"Yes, girls?" she asked.

"Why is it always such a big deal when the Snake Princess takes a bath?" asked Hibiscus.

"Yeah!" agreed Daffodil. "Is it THAT important that nobody sees her naked? Our Auntie Marguerite has us bathe together when we take a bath!"

"How old are you three?" Ran asked as she knelt down to their height level.

"Six," the triplets answered in unison.

"Well," Ran said, "I guess I can tell you three…the secret of the Gorgon Sisters."

"The secret of the Gorgon Sisters?" repeated Hibiscus.

"That's right," Ran said.

"Auntie Marguerite never told us about that!" Buttercup chimed in.

"Well, settle down, and I'll tell you," said Ran. "You see, girls, the Gorgon was a terrible, frightening the once roamed the world's oceans. Anyone who dared to look the beast in the eye would be turned to stone on the spot!"

The girls gasped.

"After they had face many harrowing dangers," Ran continued, "the Snake Princess and her sisters managed to slay the Gorgon, but the monster's dying screams had cursed the warrior sisters."

"It did?" Hibiscus asked, earning a nod from Ran.

"What was the curse?" asked Daffodil.

"A pair of eyes were carved into the flesh of each of their backs," Ran answered the sisters. "If they were to take off their clothes in front of anyone, those eyes would be revealed, and anyone around the Gorgon Sisters would be turned to stone."

"Really?" the triplets asked.

"Yes," Ran said. "Now you know why the Gorgon Sisters never strip themselves of their clothes in front of people and evacuate from the castle when they take a bath."

Hibiscus, Buttercup, Daffodil glanced at each other. Now they wished they didn't ask Ran about this ritual.

"Don't be scared, little ones," Ran said, reassuringly. "It may sound frightening, but the Gorgon Sisters' curse is the result of their heroic deeds, so it is the pride of this nation of warriors! Do you understand, now?"

"Yeah!" Daffodil answered.

"I get it!" Hibiscus added.

"Me, too!" chirped Buttercup. "The Snake Princess and her sisters are so amazing!"

"Yeah!" agreed Hibiscus. "I wanna be just like them, when I get big!"

"So do I!" added Daffodil.

Ran just smiled at the three six-year-old girls.

XXX

Meanwhile, in the jungle, the women that were chasing Luffy and Blizzard had lost sight of them.

"Now where did the man and his wolf disappear to?" Kikyo questioned.

"They must've climbed up the mountain!" said one of the warriors.

"Maybe they escape to the village," Marguerite whispered. "After all…Luffy said that they were looking for a ship."

"What was that, Marguerite?" asked Aphelandra.

"N-nothing," Marguerite answered.

XXX

Up on the cliff face of the village wall, Luffy and Blizzard were climbing up, having finally escaped from the pack of crazy-strong female warriors, and were now formulating a plan of escape.

"Well, now what?" asked Luffy. "If we wait too long, those women might find us, again. I wish Usopp was here. He's good at running away."

_As much as I hate to admit it,_ Blizzard thought, _you're right._

Blizzard managed to make it to the top, but Luffy nearly slipped. The wolf-dog managed to grab him and pull him by his hand, but he didn't bite too hard so as not to make it bleed.

"They did say they had a pirate ship," said Luffy. "We'd sure like to borrow it, huh Blizzard?"

Blizzard nodded.

"Still…" Luffy said, "we can't just set sail. Without Nami, we'd go drifting off to who-knows where…Nami…"

Luffy felt his heart starting to ache at the mention of his navigator.

He just remembered how much he missed her.

Blizzard gently pressed his nose against his master's leg, reminding him of the situation.

"Right, Blizzard," Luffy said. "Okay, so, we're gonna have to ask these people to get us a ship so we can have them take us back to the Sabaody Archipelago."

Blizzard nodded.

"I guess we'll have to talk to the head, around here."

Blizzard nodded, again.

"The head person lives in really tall buildings, so…uh…hmm…!"

**RRRUUUUUUUUUMMBLE!** Luffy's stomach roared.

"All this thinking's making me hungry!" he complained.

_Seriously?_ Blizzard thought, sweat-dropping. _Are you THAT simple?_

"Ah-ha!" Luffy exclaimed, pounding a fist into his palm. "Blizzard, that's it! We'll just go inside a tall building!"

_Yep,_ Blizzard thought, sweat-dropping twice as hard. _You're THAT simple._

"C'mon, buddy!" Luffy called as he jumped over the other side of the wall and fell…straight to the Kuja Castle's roof.

_H-hey!_ Blizzard thought as he followed after his foolish master. _Hang on a minute, Luffy! Wait for me, moron!_

XXX

Back in the jungle, Marguerite, Sweet Pea, Aphelandra, Kikyo, and the rest were racing back to the village. They knew that Hancock must've returned by now, and they had to find Luffy and Blizzard and do away with them as quick as possible before their ruler discovered the pirates' presence.

Marguerite couldn't help but feel a slight sense of regret.

XXX

**THOOM!** Luffy landed on top of the roof of the castle with Blizzard landing beside him. However, the roof appeared to be too weak to hold their combined weight, so they ended up crashing through.

The villagers happened to hear the sound and looked up, wondering what was going on.

**SPLASH!** Luffy and Blizzard ended plunging into hot water…both literally and figuratively.

"AAAAAAAH!" Luffy screamed as he splashed about. "HELP! BLIZZARD, HELP ME! I'M DROWING~!"

After a moment, Luffy realized that the water he was in was shallow.

"Oh," he said as he stood up. "I'm okay!" He chuckled before he turned to Blizzard…who was staring ahead of himself, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Blizzard?" Luffy asked. "What's the matter, buddy?" He waved his hand in front of the wolf-dog's eyes.

No reaction.

Luffy looked into the direction that his dog was staring and saw…that it was Hancock, bathing herself in the hot water. That is, until she heard Luffy's cries.

_It's her…!_ Blizzard thought, a blush flooding his furry cheeks and a tiny rope of drool seeping from his jaws. _It's really her! The Pirate Empress…Boa Hancock! She really IS the most beautiful woman in the world!_ He shook his head, trying to suppress his…perverted thoughts. _And…we just FELL INTO HER BATHTUB! CRAP!_

Hancock stared at Luffy and Blizzard, her long, black hair covering her…chest region.

"A man and a wolf…!" Hancock gasped.

"Hey," Luffy said, all of a sudden, pointing his finger at the Warlord. "That thing on your back…I think I've seen it, before."

**SPLASH!** Hancock turned to face Luffy full, her arms covering her chest. Blizzard gasped, his teeth clenched…when he saw the angry look in the empress's eyes.

"You…" she hissed. "You saw it!"

_Uh-oh,_ Blizzard thought, his ears falling besides his head.

* * *

><p>Review, please!<p> 


	5. Coliseum

**Ch. 5- Coliseum**

* * *

><p>One Piece © Oda<p>

Blizzard, Hibiscus, Daffodil, and Buttercup © Me

* * *

><p>When we last left Luffy and Blizzard, they were being chased by the warrior women of Amazon Lily. Once they had escaped, they fell into Boa Hancock's bathtub. Blizzard is about to suggest that they leave, but Luffy makes the mistake of pointing a mark on Hancock's back.<p>

Hancock reacts with anger.

Just then, Marigold and Sandersonia came bursting in, just as Luffy, Blizzard, and Hancock were getting out of the tub.

"Hancock!" Marigold cried.

"What's wrong?" Sandersonia asked.

The two sisters gasped at the sight of Luffy.

"Is that…a man?" Sandersonia questioned. "Where'd he come from?"

"And how did he get here?" Marigold added as she slipped some clothes unto her older sister. "Hancock, please! Put your robe on! What happened in here?"

"N-no, wait!" Luffy said, waving his arms. "I…uh…"

"He saw…my back," Hancock said.

Her sisters' eyes went wide with shock and horror.

"The wolf saw it, too," Hancock added, pointing at Blizzard.

_Huh?_ Blizzard thought.

"Then they both must die," Marigold said.

"WHAT?" Luffy yelled. "B-but why? All we did was see your back! Still, I think I might've seen that mark on her back before."

_SHUT UP, STUPID!_ Blizzard thought. _ARE YOU _TRYING_ TO MAKE THEM EVEN MORE PISSED OFF?_

"Man," Hancock said. "You and your wolf had seen something that we would die to prevent anyone from seeing."

"Huh?" Luffy muttered. "But why? Who are you? What's this all about?"

_Don't go asking questions!_ Blizzard thought. _Right now, we need to get outta here!_

"All who see what you have seen must DIE!" Hancock exclaimed before she pointed her hands at Luffy and Blizzard, forming the shape of a heart. "Love-Love MELLOW!"

Luffy gasped.

"Oh, no…!" he thought aloud. "Not this again! It's the same like when Foxy shot that beam at me! I'm gonna slow down!"

**SHOOM!** Hancock fired her beam at Luffy and Blizzard, the former flinching and closing his eyes.

A pause came…but nothing happened.

Luffy looked behind himself, then back at Hancock, sucking his lips and putting his hat back upon his head.

Hancock stared at the two in slight surprise, but she decided to try it again.

"Love-Love MELLOW!"

**SHOOM!** Hancock fired another beam at Luffy and Blizzard.

Once again, there was no reaction.

"Why don't they turn to stone?" an outraged Hancock questioned. "They both saw me naked in the bath, and yet my powers have no effect on them!"

"That's impossible, sister!" Marigold exclaimed. "Your body is so beautiful that people and creatures of all ages and genders fall in love with you!"

"Perhaps his fear of death must've erased any impure thoughts from his mind," Sandersonia. "He is a pitiful man, but fortunate. What I don't understand is how the wolf-"

Upon taking a closer, the Gorgon Sisters saw why Blizzard also remained unaffected by Hancock's powers: he had his ears folded over his eyes, like a blindfold.

_That was close,_ Blizzard thought. _If I hadn't covered my eyes at the last second, I would've been one stone-cold wolf-dog, literally!_

"I have no idea what's going on here," said Luffy, "but I think it's time Blizzard and I got to leaving! Besides, we were just trying to talk to whoever's in charge of this place!"

With that, Luffy and Blizzard ran to the nearest window and **KRASH!** They jumped right through!

"They jumped!" Marigold shouted. "From this height?"

"Hmph," Hancock scoffed. **Smooch!** She kissed the tip of her index finger and then pointed it at the huge hole in the wall that Luffy and Blizzard had made, or rather aiming at the two Straw Hats, like it was a gun. "Pistol KISS!"

**BAM!** Hancock fired a heart-shaped bullet at Luffy and Blizzard…and it actually managed to hit the former!

"AGH!" Luffy grunted as he held his side. "What the hell was that? A bullet?"

_Bullets aren't supposed to work on Luffy!_ Blizzard thought. _He's supposed to be made of rubber!_

**BAM!** Luffy and Blizzard fell to the castle grounds.

"Kuja Pirates! Capture that man and his wolf!" Hancock ordered. "They're intruders!"

The Kuja quickly rushed to the castle to apprehend the intruders, all the while wondering how a man had gotten to their island.

XXX

Moments later, Luffy and Blizzard were now in the island's coliseum. They were bound by snakes which acted like ropes that they somehow couldn't break through, as if they were made of steel. All around them, they could hear the women cheering the Gorgon Sisters' names.

"We were too late," said Kikyo, sitting amongst the audience, along with Marguerite, Sweet Pea, and Aphelandra. "I just hope they don't ask him how and the wolf entered the country."

Marguerite just sat there in silence. She had been quiet for an awfully long time, too.

"They're going to kill them, aren't they?" she asked.

Luffy took a look around.

"What kind of an island is this?" he asked to no one in particular. "There seriously aren't any men here?"

_Uh, duh!_ Blizzard thought. _It's called the Island of _Maidens_! Man, you're dense! What have I done to deserve you?_

"So tell me, man," Hancock said. "How did you and your mongrel wolf enter this island? What is it that you want here?"

"I dunno!" Luffy answered, still struggling to get out of his bonds. "Blizzard and I were just flying through the sky for three days and three nights, and the next thing I knew, we end up here!"

"Lies!" Hancock barked. "I am no fool to believe such a ridiculous tale!"

**WOOF! RUFF! **_**AROOOOOOO~!**_ Blizzard started to bark and howl.

_But you have to!_ he thought. _He's telling the truth, really! He's a horrible liar! I know!_

"I know that you and your beast are up to no hood," said Hancock. "You're after something."

"Well, yeah," Luffy said. "Blizzard and I need a ship! We need to get off this island and get to somewhere as soon as possible so we can get back together with our friends! Hey, lady! If you're the big boss of this island, then please, help us! My dog and I have to go out to sea!"

The women began to boo and hiss at the Straw Hat captain.

"How dare he say 'Hey, lady' to the Snake Princess!"

"He's so vulgar and rude! I can't stand him!"

"You and your wolf will never leave this place alive," Hancock said, narrowing her eyes. "Your fate has been decided the moment you set foot here."

"Snake Princess! Please, wait!"

Hancock turned to the west of her and saw Marguerite, standing up from her seat and leaping into the arena.

"Marguerite, come back!" Kikyo cried.

"I don't think this man would tell a lie, Snake Princess!" Marguerite said. "Everything that he's saying is true! I don't believe that he or his wolf would do anything to bring harm to our country!"

"Hey, Marguerite!" Luffy said. "Yeah! Listen to her! She'll vouch for us!"

"You are one of the city defenders," said Hancock.

"Yes," Marguerite said. "My name is Marguerite."

"Then you know that it is absolutely forbidden for men to set foot on this island," Hancock told her. "The moment he and his wolf arrived here, they were both sentenced to death from the start. So why do you defend them?"

"Because I feel guilty, Snake Princess," Marguerite replied. "You see…the one who brought him into the city…was me!"

The women gasped, but the one that was most shocked was Kikyo.

"Marguerite, no!" Kikyo shouted.

"S-Snake Princess!" Sweet Pea called. "The saga of: she had a good reason!"

"That's right!" added Aphelandra. "You see, the wolf led us to the man because he was in trouble! His body was covered in mushrooms! We mistook for one of our own, so we brought him to the city!"

"Sweet Pea! Aphelandra!" Kikyo said. "Not you, too!"

Aphelandra and Sweet Pea jumped into the arena and dropped to their hands and knees.

"It was our fault, too!" Aphelandra said.

"Stop it! Both of you!" Marguerite said. "I'm the one who said we should take him back to the city!"

"Wow," Luffy said. "And you guys were trying to kill me and Blizzard, earlier. We really owe you one!" He grinned and chuckled.

_Why do I have this feeling that something bad is about to happen?_ Blizzard thought.

"Unfortunately," Ran started, "in saying that…"

"Marguerite's being too honest," Daisy said. "ZAHAHAHAHA~!"

Hancock began to descend from her throne, slowly approaching Marguerite, who was down on her hands and knees in a bow.

"I, alone, am responsible for the man's presence," Marguerite said. "Please forgive me, Snake Princess. I have three nieces that I'm trying to raise on my own!"

Hancock put a finger underneath Marguerite's chin, forcing her to stand.

"Raise your head, honest little Marguerite," the Warlord said.

Marguerite looked up at Hancock, her heart beginning to thump against her ribcage.

"Love-Love MELLOW!"

Marguerite gasped, a blush appearing on her face before…**KREKK!** She was frozen…in stone!

Sweet Pea and Aphelandra had been turned into stone, as well!

Luffy and Blizzard stared at their saviors in shock.

_Oh, no…!_ Blizzard thought.

"H-hey!" Luffy called as he stood up. "A-are you three okay? What's wrong with you guys? Say something! Speak to me!"

Kikyo put her hand to her forehead.

"Why didn't you just stay quiet?" Kikyo asked.

"What happened to them?" Luffy questioned. "Th-they've been turned to stone, but why?" He turned to Hancock. "Hey, you! What did you to them? They saved me and my dog!"

**Grr~!** **BARK! BARK-BARK-BARK-BARK!** Blizzard began to growl, snarl, and bark at Hancock. He no longer held any fear towards this woman because of her title. Now, he was just angry. Angry because she had just turned his and Luffy's saviors into stone effigies.

"That's precisely the reason that they had to be punished," said Hancock as she began to ascend to her throne.

"Wait!" Luffy called. "Come back here, you!"

"I was going to have you and your beast fight each other to the death," Hancock said, "but then again…that would be rather boring."

_So what are we?_ Blizzard thought. _Toys?_

Hancock turned to Luffy and said, "Amazon Lily is a nation of warrior women. Here, strength is beauty. Fight to the best of your ability and die an honorable death while we watch."

**SWIP-SWIP!** The snakes unwrapped themselves around Luffy and Blizzard and made a hasty getaway, just as a humungous shadow loomed over the two. Looking back, they saw that it was a gigantic black panther with huge protruding fangs and a drooling mouth.

To put it simply…the big cat looked hungry.

"This panther is Bacura the Executioner," said Hancock. "He and his ancestors have served the empresses of Amazon Lily for generations. Once he's finished with you and your filthy mutt…you will just be an unpleasant. Not even your bones will remain!"

"What's going to happen to them?" Luffy questioned. "They'll change back, won't they?"

"Don't you dare talk back to the Snake Princess that way!"

"Kill them, Bacura!"

"You men are nothing but weak little insects!"

"Nothing but bark!"

**GRR~!** Bacura growled viciously as he circled behind Luffy and Blizzard, but Blizzard snorted and grunted, showing no sign of fear at the huge cat, like Luffy.

_You call that growling?_ Blizzard thought. _I've heard Luffy's stomach growl louder than that!_

**GRRAAAAARR~!** Bacura roared as he lunged forward at his prey. Unfortunately, he was about to learn that this was unlike any other prey he ever attempted to attack.

_CRACKER!_

**BAM!** Blizzard jumped at Bacura, ramming his head right into the panther's skull. **THUD!** Bacura fell to the ground, just as Blizzard landed as well. As the giant panther staggered to his paws, he saw something that sent a shiver down his spine.

Blizzard was giving the cat a deathly glare.

_Get lost…pussycat,_ he thought.

Bacura whimpered as he got down low as Blizzard kept glaring at him before he turned tail and leapt out of the coliseum, nearly crushing anyone in his path with his huge paws.

The women were left shocked. Even Hancock was surprised. They'd never seen Bacura so frightened like that, and all because of a dog who was only about the size of his paw!

"That wolf…" said one woman. "He scared Bacura away!"

"But how?" Ran said. "It couldn't have been Haki, couldn't it? I thought animals couldn't possess it!"

"There's something wrong with all of you," Luffy said as he turned to the audience. "That woman…she turned your friends to stone! SO WHY ARE YOU ALL JUST SITTING THERE AND NOT HELPING THEM?"

_Seriously,_ Blizzard thought. _That's low._

"How dare that savage yell at us!"

"Don't listen to him! He's a brutal animal, just like that wolf!"

"We do feel bad for them, but the Snake Princess is always right!"

"Those three had violated the sacred law of Amazon Lily! For that, they deserve punishment!"

_And they're saying that _we're _the savages!_ Blizzard thought.

"No matter what I do," Hancock said, "everyone in the world will forgive me. Why? Because…I am beautiful."

This was enough to send the audience cheering and screaming the Pirate Empress's name.

"Well?" Hancock asked Luffy. "What about you and your beast?"

Luffy stared at Hancock with the utmost anger and hatred and simply said, "You make me wanna puke, you bitch!"

**GRR~!** Blizzard growled and snarled at the woman, equally as angry as his master. He was no longer infatuated with this monster.

Hancock gasped before she began to fall back.

"Hancock?" Marigold asked. "What's the matter?"

"This…this can't be happening!" Hancock said. "No man nor beast can resist my charms! Their existence…is intolerable!"

The audience began to roar with anger and distain for Luffy and Blizzard.

"How dare you insult our great Snake Princess like that?"

"Put that man and his wolf to death!"

"Death! Death! Death!" the women started to chant.

"Marigold! Sandersonia!" Hancock ordered. "Bring me that man's head and skin that wolf alive!"

"As you wish, sister," the two sisters said as they stepped into the arena.

At that moment, their bodies began to undergo a change. Their necks grew long. Their legs started to disappear. Their bodies grew pale and scaly. Their tongues became forked, and their mouths grew long, retractable fangs.

Marigold and Sandersonia had turned into giant snakes.

"So they have Devil Fruit powers, too," Luffy whispered.

_Zoan type Devil Fruits, to be more precise,_ Blizzard thought.

"There it is! The Gorgon Sisters' curse!"

"They're about to begin the Snake Burrow Dances!"

"DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!"

Sandersonia and Marigold surrounded both Luffy and Blizzard, prepared to give them one hell of a fight.

Luffy just slammed a fist into his palm and said, "Let's do this, buddy."

**Grr…!** Blizzard growled in agreement.

* * *

><p>Review, please!<p> 


	6. Natural Born Kings

**Ch. 6- Natural Born Kings**

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><p>One Piece © Oda<p>

Blizzard © Me

* * *

><p>The air was filled with cheers and chants of "Death! Death! Death!". Luffy and Blizzard stood back-to-back in between the arena, surrounded by the Gorgon Sisters, Marigold and Sandersonia, who had transformed into a pair of gigantic snakes, both prepared to crush them.<p>

"Such a glorious sight!"

"There's the proof that they had slain the Gorgon!"

"They're beautiful, even in their accursed form!"

"Curse?" Luffy repeated, questioningly. "What curse? They're just Devil Fruit powers."

_Yeah, big deal,_ Blizzard thought.

"Sandersonia! Marigold!" Hancock shouted. "Punish the man and his mongrel for defiling the island of women with his presence and for insulting our honor! Let him fall victim to the war dance!"

"Should I swallow them whole?" Sandersonia asked, teasingly.

"There won't really be much left after I crush them to the death," Marigold said.

"Can we wait for a second?" Luffy asked.

"Don't try and weasel your way out of this, man," Sandersonia hissed. "You and that beast's fate was sealed the moment you came here!"

"Well, it's not that," Luffy said before he turned to the three stone statues of Marguerite, Sweet Pea, and Aphelandra. "I wanna get these three out of our way, first."

_Good idea,_ Blizzard thought. _They might end up getting smashed if they stay here._

The Gorgon Sisters, however, just stared at Luffy in anger as he approached the stone effigies. How dare this man ignore them while they're about to kill him?

"Don't you DARE turn your back on us, man!" Marigold roared as she prepared to skewer Luffy with her spear, but then…

_Bullet FANG!_

**BANG! SKISH!** What sounded like a gunshot went off, and a white blur went flying passed Marigold's face, causing a long, bleeding cut to appear on her cheek. Looking back, Marigold saw Blizzard, licking his lips.

_Likewise,_ the wolf-dog thought.

The two snake-women hissed at Blizzard.

"Damned mutt," Sandersonia growled. "If you really think that you and the man have a chance against us, you're dead wrong!"

Slowly, Blizzard looked over to Luffy to check on his progress.

He managed to get Aphelandra, Marguerite, and Sweet Pea to the lower part of the arena, quickly but carefully so as not to break them. He was afraid that even the slightest crack could hurt them.

"There," he said. "Nice and safe. You three wait right here, okay? I'm sorry I got you into this mess. Maybe you can be turned back to normal. I sure wish Chopper was here. I'd have him take a look at you girls."

"I think you should be more worried about yourself," said Sandersonia.

"Zip it!" Luffy spat.

The audience, however, was a bit surprised to Luffy helping the frozen trio.

"The man is saving them?" Kikyo questioned.

"He's already been condemned to death, twice!"

Luffy jumped back over to Blizzard's side.

"Okay, buddy," he said as he cracked his knuckles. "All we gotta do is kick their scaly asses, right?"

_That's the basic idea, I guess,_ Blizzard thought.

The women in the audience began to burst out in laughter.

"Did you hear what he just said?"

"Him? Defeat the Gorgon Sisters? Preposterous!"

"Ridiculous!"

"He's still so funny, even when he's about to get killed!"

"Humph," Marigold scoffed with a grin. "Go ahead and try, if you wish. If you still don't understand that you and your wolf about to die, then let met give you a warning. Be careful you don't fall out of the arena. There are razor sharp spikes down below."

Blizzard looked down below the arena and saw that Marigold spoke the truth. Sharp, silver spikes were pointing up towards the sky. The wolf-dog inwardly grimaced at the thought of himself and Luffy getting skewered.

"I don't plan on dying, any time soon," said Luffy. "Besides, I still have to find the One Piece!"

Now it was Marigold and Sandersonia's turn to laugh.

"Did you hear what he just said, Sonia?" asked Marigold.

"I heard him Mari," answered Marigold, "but I don't believe him. You? Find the fabled One Piece? What a joke!"

Hearing that made Luffy even more pissed than he already was.

"You shut up!" he barked. "I WILL beat you! I WILL get Blizzard and me outta here! I WILL get back with my crew! And then…I WILL be the King of the Pirates!"

"Mari! Sonia!" Hancock bellowed. "Stop wasting time and KILL THEM!"

"Yes, sister!" the two snake-women said.

"Blizzard," Luffy said. "You take the big one."

_Gotcha,_ Blizzard thought, but then his eyes went wide in realization. _Hey, wait! Which big one? They're both big!_

The wolf-dog soon got his answer when he saw Luffy charge at Sandersonia and attempt to throw a Gum-Gum Pistol at her, thus leaving him to take on Marigold, who, as of this moment, had raised her spear at him.

"Take THIS, and THIS, and THIS!"

**SWIPE! SLASH! THUNK!** Marigold slashed and stabbed her spear at Blizzard, who was bobbing and weaving around the blade, barely avoiding it as he dodged.

He could already tell that the cobra-woman was going to give him a rather hard time.

"Gum-Gum BAZOOKA!"

**WROING!** Luffy stretched his arms back and attempted hit Sandersonia with a double-fisted punch, but Sandersonia effortlessly dodged his attack.

"What the…?" Luffy muttered.

"Are you done?" Sandersonia asked before **WHAM!** She slammed her tail into Luffy's side, sending him crashing him into the ground.

_Luffy!_ Blizzard cried out in thought.

Luffy managed to pick himself up, clutching his side as he did.

"Ah…that hurt!" he groaned. "Wait…that hurt? But how? I'm supposed to be made of rubber!"

Blizzard was also surprised. How could it be that Sandersonia managed to hit Luffy and hurt him, too?

"Don't look away, wolf!" Marigold said before **SPURT!** She spat out a strange, purple liquid at Blizzard, who jumped away in the nick of time. Looking back, the wolf-dog saw that the liquid was causing the spot where he was standing to melt.

_What the hell?_ Blizzard thought. _Is that poison?_

"You managed to dodge my deadly venom," said Marigold. "How lucky for you, but I'm afraid your luck is about to run out."

Blizzard strafed around to evade Marigold's venom attacks before he jumped up into the air.

_CRACKER!_ he yelled in thought.

**BAM!** Blizzard dove down at Marigold, prepared to deliver a powerful head butt, but when his skull made contact with Marigold's, he immediately dropped down to the ground, holding his head with his paws. He felt a small stream of blood starting to seep out from his forehead.

_Damn!_ he cursed in thought. _She's got one hard head. Harder than mine!_

"Foolish mongrel," Marigold said.

**Grr~!** Blizzard growled in frustration.

Marigold raised her spear at Blizzard again, but then…

"Blizzard!"

Marigold turned and saw Luffy, preparing to kick her with a Gum-Gum Stamp, but the cobra-woman raised her hand up, causing Luffy's foot to go in a different direction before he went ricocheting towards the railing.

**KRASH!**

Luffy moaned again, clutching his head.

"Ow~!" he cried. "Damn it! Why does it hurt?"

The Gorgon sisters laughed sinisterly at Luffy's expense.

**Grr~!** Blizzard growled before he lunged at Marigold again.

_Don't you look away from me!_ he thought. _I'm the one you're fighting! Twister FANG!_

Blizzard started to spin around as he reached Marigold, who managed to evade the attack simply by slithering to the left, causing him to hit the ground. Before he could get up, **BAM!** Marigold slammed her tail on Blizzard, causing him to yowl in pain.

"BLIZZARD!" Luffy cried as he stood up and ran to his dog's aid, but as he was running, a tail grabbed him from behind, wrapped itself around him, and lifted him up into the air.

"Hey, no fair!" said Sandersonia, who had her head rested in her hands. "I'm not done playing with you!"

"Put me down!" Luffy yelled. "I gotta help my dog!" He turned to Blizzard, who appeared to have fallen unconscious. "BLIZZARD! GET UP, BUDDY!"

Blizzard only responded by trying to get up, but fell back down.

"Humph," Marigold scoffed. "How pathetic! I was hoping this mutt would bring more of a challenge!"

"DAMN YOU!" Luffy shouted. "I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASSES TWICE AS HARD, NOW- ARRRRRRRGGH!"

Sandersonia began to squeeze Luffy's body with her tail, causing him to let out an ear-piercing scream.

"WHY DOES IT HURT SO MUCH?" he yelled. "I'M SUPPOSED TO BE MADE OF RUBBER, DAMN IT!"

Sandersonia just chuckled.

"Like I said," she started, "you should be more worried about yourself."

Luffy growled at the anaconda-woman.

"Gum-Gum…"

Sandersonia nonchalantly grinned and said, "A kick from the left foot."

"STAMP!"

**WHOOSH!** Luffy tried to deliver a kick to Sandersonia's face, but she easily managed to dodge it by jumping back up to the arena. **SLAM!** Luffy's foot made contact with the ground where she once stood.

"Heavy SNAKE SLAM!"

**SMASH!** Sandersonia drove Luffy into the ground, headfirst, but Luffy managed to himself out of her grasp once he landed, seemingly unharmed.

"I knew it," he said. "I knew I was still made of rubber! Attacks like these can't hurt me! Gum-Gum…GATLING!"

"Snake Dance!"

Luffy let loose with rapid-fire punches, but Sandersonia managed to weave her way around the blows.

The audience roared with cheers.

"What amazing strength!"

"With the power of her Haki, Sandersonia can dodge anything!"

"Damn, damn, damn!" cursed Luffy. "She's reading all my moves, just like Eneru!"

"Don't forget about me, man!" a voice called out. "Heavy SNAKE STICK!"

**WHAM!** The tip of Marigold's tail impacted, dead center into Luffy's stomach, forcing him back. **KOFF! BLEGH!** Luffy coughed up some blood as he went reeling backwards, off of the arena and towards the bottom where the spikes were, and he was losing his senses as he was falling.

Was this is it? Was this really the end of the road for our hero?

Luffy kept dropping towards the spikes, his death appearing inevitable, but then…he stopped when he felt something clamp down on his foot…rather painfully, too.

"YOW!" Luffy cried as he was brought out of unconscious. When he looked down, he saw that he had been caught just a few feet above the spikes. Also, this pain in his foot. It felt…familiar…like the piercing of sharp teeth. Looking up, he saw that it was Blizzard, his teeth clamped around Luffy's foot.

"Blizzard!" Luffy exclaimed, smiling. "You're okay!"

Blizzard gave Luffy a grin of his own.

_Just barely,_ he thought.

**WHUP!** Blizzard threw Luffy back up towards the arena, where he landed safely. Although, he did stumble a bit. Apparently, Blizzard bit down on his foot a little too hard, because Luffy saw that it was beginning to bleed.

Blizzard soon came up to meet with Luffy, although, when he saw his master's foot, he felt a slight twist of regret inside, but decided to put it off for now.

Luffy looked up to the Gorgon Sisters.

"Looks like them beating them is gonna be easier said than done, buddy," Luffy said to Blizzard.

_Tell me about it,_ Blizzard thought. _They can read our moves and they're able to hurt you! This isn't gonna be like any of those fights we ever had, before!_

Luffy turned to Blizzard, his usual grin upon his face.

"Don't worry," he said. "We can take them as long as we fight together."

"That's impossible."

Luffy and Blizzard looked up at Hancock.

"You two are nothing but bark," she said as she brushed her behind her ear, thus making the audience swoon, lovingly. "A man with the ability to stretch like rubber and a white wolf. How stupid."

"You're the stupid one!" Luffy barked.

That got her again. Hancock collapsed into her snake throne, once more.

"Oh, my…!" she gasped.

The audience roared in anger.

"HOW DARE HE INSULT THE SNAKE PRINCESS A SECOND TIME!"

"UNFORGIVABLE! HE MUST BE PUT TO DEATH!"

"SONIA! MARI!" Hancock bellowed as she stood up and went into her "looking-down" pose. "END THAT MAN'S LIFE, AT ONCE…SO I'LL NEVER HAVE TO HEAR HIS FILTHY TALK, EVER AGAIN!"

"Yes, big sister!" the Gorgon Sisters said as they surrounded Luffy and Blizzard, once again.

"What a shame," said Sandersonia. "I was hoping to play with the wolf next. Too bad they have to die, now."

"These are big sister's orders," Marigold said. "Therefore, they must be carried out." She nodded her head at Sandersonia, who nodded back and pulled something up over the arena with her tail.

It was a stone Marguerite.

"Hey! Wait!" Luffy cried. "What do you think you're doing? Leave her outta this! You could break her! Blizzard and I owe her friends our lives!"

"That's the point," Sandersonia said. "I AM going to break them, one-by-one. Since she and her cohorts saved you, that makes them criminals, as well."

"Too bad for you," Marigold said, "but that is YOUR punishment, man."

"Don't talk stupid!" Luffy bellowed. "This is a duel between you and us!"

"A duel, eh?" Marigold said. "You're the only one who thinks so."

**WHAP!** She smacked Luffy with her tail, again, causing him to fall onto the cold, hard ground.

_Luffy!_ Blizzard cried in thought before he tried to run to his aid, only for Marigold to wrap her tail around his body and lift him into the air.

As Luffy got to his feet, he saw his dog, now struggling to get out Marigold's grip.

"BLIZZARD!" he cried.

**YOOOOOOOOWL!** Marigold put the squeeze on Blizzard, causing him to let out an unearthly yowl of agony that was practically loud enough to break the sound barrier.

Luffy was about to go after Marigold, but then he looked over Marguerite, who was being tossed up and down by Sandersonia.

"Let them go!" he shouted.

"Oh, come on, man," said Sandersonia. "You think it's going to be that easy? You can only save one of them."

Hearing that made Luffy's heart sink down into his stomach.

"Who's it going to be, man?" Marigold questioned as she glanced to the struggling Blizzard. "Your precious little doggy? Or the foolish warrior who saved your lives? Your choice."

Luffy glanced, back-and-forth between Blizzard and Marguerite, his expression taking on one of anger and frustration.

"NO!" Luffy cried. "PLEASE, DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE! THIS ISN'T FAIR!"

"Sometimes, life just isn't fair," Sandersonia said, her tone turning bitter.

"Yes," Marigold said, also taking on the same tone. "Sometimes, things take a bad turn, and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

Luffy's expression turned into one of perplexity. Blizzard stopped struggling.

The sister's words…they sounded…somewhat melancholy.

But why?

"Sometimes," Sandersonia began, "you must learn to live with the scars."

"Sometimes," Marigold said, "you can't save everybody…not even yourself."

The sisters' expressions then went back to being sinister.

"But still," hissed Marigold, "you still can't fight us."

"Yes," Sandersonia agreed. "You and the wolf are WAY out of your league!"

"I don't understand!" Luffy yelled. "How could you do this to her? Marguerite really looked up to you guys!"

_Yeah!_ Blizzard agreed in thought. _Is this how you're gonna repay he-_

His thoughts were interrupted when Marigold went back to squeezing the life out of him.

"LET THEM GO!" Luffy roared, enraged. By this time, he felt his voice starting to break.

"Either save one of them…" whispered Sandersonia.

"Or they both die…" Marigold finished, sinisterly.

Blizzard howled in pain, once more as Marigold continued to squeeze him.

Luffy looked between his captured dog and the stone Marguerite, his vision becoming blurry with tears. As he did, images of his friends disappearing back at Sabaody began to play in his mind.

XXX

_Kuma swiped his paw at Zoro, making him the first to disappear…_

XXX

"Stop…" he murmured.

XXX

_Brook was the next go._

XXX

"Please, stop…"

XXX

_Usopp went next, followed by Sanji._

XXX

"I…I can't lose anyone else…!"

XXX

_Kuma brought his paw on Franky, who disappeared the moment he was touched, and Robin soon followed._

XXX

"Stop…stop it…!"

XXX

_Chopper let out a huge, ferocious roar as he prepared to attack Kuma…who erased him, as well._

XXX

"Stop it!"

XXX

_Nami looked over to Luffy, just as he racing to her rescue, but the only words she managed to get out were, "LUFFY! HELP M-"_

_She was gone._

XXX

"MARGUERITE~!" Kikyo screamed over the cheering crowd.

"CHOOSE, MAN!" the Gorgon Sisters yelled as they raised their tails, prepared to destroy their captives, but then, Luffy looked up at them with a killer glare in his eyes.

"I…said…STOOOOOOOOOP!"

**VEEEEN!** A huge blast emanated from Luffy as he roared. The Gorgon Sisters stared in surprise as what felt like a powerful wind flowed from the boy. They weren't the only ones. The whole crowd felt a great pressure coming from him. Even Hancock felt it!

Everyone fell silent and stiff, even as the wind died down.

Then…it happened.

One-by-one, random women began to faint with mouths foaming. Some slumped in their seats, others ended up leaning on their fellow Kuja's shoulders, and most just fell forward. The remainder of the crowd began to cry out in panic. Their comrades were dropping like flies, like there was some kind of plague!

Kikyo looked down at Luffy, some sweat beading on her brow.

_Could it be…?_ she thought.

Blizzard had stopped his struggling and watched as most of the crowd passed out, and then looked at Luffy.

_He did it, again,_ he thought. _This one was even bigger than the last one._

Marigold gently set Blizzard down on the ground. Sandersonia did the same with Marguerite.

Blizzard shook off the pressure of Marigold's squeeze before he ran to Luffy, who was down on his knees with open arms. Once he got close, Luffy pulled him into a happy embrace.

"Oh, buddy," he said. "I'm so glad you're all right!"

_Actually, she might've cracked my ribs, a bit,_ Blizzard thought, but he was wagging his tail, nonetheless.

Luffy then broke his hold on Blizzard and looked up to the Gorgon Sisters.

"So now you're ready to listen to me?" he asked them. "I guess you're not so unreasonable after all!"

"That was…Conqueror's Haki!" whispered Ran. "Just like the wolf!"

"Impossible!" said Daisy. "Only 1-in-a-million have that kind of spirit! They must be one of the chosen ones!"

"Unbelievable," Sandersonia gasped. "Big sister's the only one I've ever known who could use Conqueror's Haki!"

"This man and his wolf are natural born kings!" Marigold added.

Hancock was also quite disturbed at seeing such a display.

"So he has Conqueror's Haki, too?" she questioned to herself. "What does it mean? He and that beast have shown that they're able to do so. So they're not ordinary, after all. Who…or what are these two?"

"It looks like the wolf can control his," said Sandersonia. "The man, on the other hand…"

"Would you shut the hell up, already?" Luffy asked. "Jeez, you're so freaking noisy! Okay…since I know you two are strong…" he parted his legs, put one hand on his knee and a fist to the ground. "…I won't hold back, anymore."

**Grr~!** Blizzard came up beside Luffy, growling and snarling.

_And neither will I._

* * *

><p>Review, please!<p> 


	7. The Eye of the Gorgon

**Ch. 7- The Eye of the Gorgon**

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><p>One Piece © Oda<p>

Blizzard © Me

* * *

><p>"Gear…SECOND!"<p>

Luffy, now in Gear Second mode, and Blizzard stared their opponents down, prepared to go all out. The crowd watched with great tension since most of their comrades were now lying in heaps, foaming at the mouth and unconscious. Even Hancock and the Gorgon Sisters were nervous.

"Can all men do that?" asked one of the women in the stands.

"I don't know," answered another.

Sandersonia turned to Marigold and said, "There's nothing to be scared of, Mari. Even Conqueror's Haki means nothing if the man can't control it, unlike the wolf."

Luffy turned his gaze to the stone statue of Marguerite, lying on the ground, unharmed.

"We better get her outta the way before we keep going, Blizzard," he said. "I don't want her to end up getting smashed."

Marigold and Sandersonia turned to Marguerite, then back at Luffy.

"You seem surprisingly calm," said Marigold.

"But it looks like you still don't fully understand the situation you're in," Sandersonia added. "That statue…DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING HERE!"

With that, Sandersonia prepared to smash the frozen Marguerite with her tail, but then, something blurred by, and as it disappeared, so did Marguerite, much to the anaconda-woman's shock.

_What in the world?_ she thought, questioningly.

"There. You're safe, now."

Sandersonia looked down and saw Luffy gently putting Marguerite down between Sweet Pea and Aphelandra.

"Again, I'm sorry I got you into this mess," he said before he went up to join Blizzard in the arena.

"Foolish man," Marigold said. "Why do you fight for a worthless rock?"

"Because," Luffy began, "SHE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH OUR FIGHT!"

"SONIA! MARI!" Hancock called. "HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO CONTINUES THIS MINDLESS GIBBERISH? FINISH THEM!"

"Yes, big sister!" the Gorgon Sisters said.

Luffy and Blizzard both took fighting stances.

_Bring it on!_ Blizzard thought.

**SWUP! SWUP!** Sandersonia's hair began to writhe and curl, taking the shape of eight giant snakes resting upon hear head.

"Snake-Hair Possession: EIGHT-HEADED SERPENT!"

The crowd began to roar with cheers.

"Go, Lady Sandersonia!"

"Blizzard!" Luffy said. "Stay on your toes!"

**WOOF!** Blizzard barked to say that he understood.

**WUSH!** A giant snake lunged at Luffy and Blizzard, but they both evaded by jumping out of the way. **CHOMP!** The snake ended up biting on the rail, causing part of it to crumble.

"Look at that!"

"The railing of the arena!"

"The snakes on Sandersonia's head are only supposed to be made of hair, but the fangs…they're like steel!"

**CHOMP! CHOMP! CHOMP!** Sandersonia's hair snakes kept lunging at Luffy and Blizzard in an attempt to trap them in their fangs, but their movements were too fast for them.

_I don't understand this,_ Sandersonia thought. _I can predict their movements and yet…I can't keep up with them!_

**WHAP!** Sandersonia felt something wrap itself around her neck. Looking back, she saw that it was Luffy. Before she could react…**THWAK!** Luffy threw her into the ground.

"SONIA!" Marigold cried before she looked to Luffy. "Damn you…!"

**RRAAARRRGH!** Marigold turned and saw Blizzard, snarling and growling at her.

"Fine," Marigold said. "I'll finish you off, first, wolf."

At that, Marigold swiped her spear at Blizzard, who jumped over the blade.

_X-FANG!_

**SWISH!** Blizzard made an X-shaped air-based bite at Marigold, who raised her hands up over her chest.

"It's no use, wolf!" she said. "You saw how I deflected your master's attack!"

Blizzard simply smirked at her.

**SKISH! PLOOSH!** Instead of Marigold deflecting the attack, Blizzard's X-Fang actually managed to get through, cutting the cobra-woman's shoulder, drawing blood, and throwing her back, almost right off the arena.

Marigold seethed as she held her wound.

_What's going on?_ she thought.

"SONIA! MARI!"

The Gorgon Sisters looked up to Hancock, who appeared to growing even more impatient than before.

"How long do you plan on wasting your time?" she questioned. "Hurry up and finish them, already!"

"Y-yes, big sister!" Marigold replied.

"We're sorry!" added Sandersonia. "We'll finish them, right away!"

**FWIK! FWOOM!** Marigold lit a match, and then her whole body became enveloped in flames.

"Whoa," Luffy said. "She's on fire!"

**SWUP! SWUP!** Marigold's hair began to take the form of two giant snakes.

"Snake-Hair Possession: SALAMANDER!"

"Now, you have no chance of escape!" Sandersonia. "EIGHT-HEADED SERPENT!"

**SWUP!** Sandersonia's hair turned into eight huge snakes, again. The two sisters hissed as they surrounded Luffy and Blizzard once more.

The audience began to cheer.

"They're finished, now!"

"No matter what they do, they can never escape!"

Luffy and Blizzard remained undeterred by this. Instead, the former just gave the latter a short glance, and then looked back at their opponents.

"Blizzard," he said. "Let's finish this, now!"

**GRRRFF!** Blizzard growled and nodded.

_I couldn't agree more,_ he thought.

With that, Blizzard stood behind Luffy a good distance away, just as the hair serpents were closing in.

**WROING!** Luffy stretched his arms back, as if he were about to use a Gum-Gum Bazooka, but then, he grabbed Blizzard by the scruff of his neck.

"Gum…GUUUUUM…"

"IT'S OVER, MAN!" the Gorgon Sisters yelled as their attacks were about to hit.

"JET WHITE ARROW!"

**WHOOSH! BAM!** Luffy threw Blizzard at Marigold and Sandersonia, causing their hair to become limp and lifeless.

The once-cheering crowd only stared in shock and disbelief.

However, Luffy wasn't done, just yet.

**THWAK! THWAM!** He stretched his legs out, kicking the bases of the sisters' tails before they snapped back. Marigold and Sandersonia's heads soon collided with each other's, the latter screaming out in pain. Marigold's flames were now burning her sister!

"Sonia!" Marigold cried as she attempted to push Sandersonia away. "Hurry! Get away from me!"

Sandersonia screamed as she writhed from Marigold, who was somehow being pulled along with her. A closer look revealed why.

Her and Sandersonia's tails were now tied together, like a bow!

"WHAT?" Marigold cried. "WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?"

Nearby, Luffy laughed as he gave Blizzard a high-five- err…paw, before he held up his hands in a double-peace sign.

"Put it out!" Sandersonia cried. "It's hot!"

"Sonia, stop!" Marigold exclaimed. "You're pulling on me, too!"

As Sandersonia continued to scream and yell, she didn't realize that she was about to fall towards the spikes.

"Oh, no!" Marigold said. "Sonia! Look out! The spikes! You're heading right for them! Quickly! Grab onto the rail!"

Sandersonia did as he sister advised and grabbed onto the railing that surrounded the stands, heaving a sigh of relief as she did.

She didn't realize that her clothes were burning away.

"That was a close one," said Sandersonia, unable to hear the gasps from the audience.

"L-Lady Sandersonia!"

Hancock, who was at first outraged, suddenly became horrified as she let out a silent gasp.

"Oh, no…" she whispered. "Her back…Sonia's back…it's showing…! The mark will be revealed!"

The Warlord shut her eyes, hoping- no, praying- that she wouldn't hear the sound of hateful words coming from the people who came to respect her and her sisters.

They would realize that they had been lied to.

What would happen to Sandersonia? To Marigold?

To HER?

Would they shun them? Would they seek to bring harm to her?

What was going to happen?

"Ouch! OUCH! OH, THAT'S HOT!"

Hancock slowly opened her eyes, but then let out another gasp.

There was Luffy, lying on Sandersonia's back on his stomach, his limps wrapped around the front of her body (making sure not to touch her breasts, of course).

"What is he doing?"

"He's trying to finish off Lady Sandersonia!"

"How dare he!"

"That's so cruel!"

"Damn you, man!" Sandersonia cursed at Luffy.

"Stop!" Luffy said. "Don't move! Look, I know you and your sister wanna kill me and Blizzard right now, but that doesn't we wanna do the same to you!"

"Who the HELL do you think you're talking to?" Sandersonia questioned, enraged. "Get off me! MARI! FINISH THIS PATHETIC MAN AND HIS MONGREL, RIGHT NOW!"

Marigold stood in her place, eyes wide and body quivering.

"WELL?" asked Sandersonia. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? DO IT! NOW!"

A pause…

"I…" Marigold stammered. "I…I can't, Sonia!"

"What?" Sandersonia questioned, now even more angry. "WHY?"

"Because right now," Marigold started, "the man…is the only thing that's covering your back!"

Sandersonia gasped as realization hit. She looked up and saw that Marigold was right. Luffy was indeed the only thing that was covering her naked back.

At that moment, the Kuja also realized the situation.

"Look at that! Lady Sandersonia's clothes have burned away!"

"Her back has been revealed!"

"If not for the man, the Eye of the Gorgon would show!"

Sandersonia just stared at Luffy in surprise.

Why would he do this, even though she and Marigold were trying to kill him and Blizzard not 15 minutes ago?

_Flashback_

"Man," Hancock said. "You and your wolf had seen something that we would die to prevent anyone from seeing."

_Flashback end_

"You said that you'd rather die than let anyone see what's on your backs, right?" Luffy asked. "Then don't move a muscle."

Blizzard stared in silence, unsurprised by Luffy's mercy towards his enemies.

_Luffy…_ he thought.

Hancock stood up from her throne and declared, "The Snake Burrow Dance is over! Everyone evacuate the coliseum, at once, before the Eye of the Gorgon is completely exposed!"

With that being said, the crow let out a huge gasp.

"She's right!"

"If the Eye of the Gorgon is exposed, we'd all be turned to stone!"

"Everyone, out!"

The stands were soon cleared out of all witnesses, conscious, unconscious or otherwise. Once they were empty, Sandersonia looked down to the trench of spikes below the arena.

"I don't understand," she said. "My sister and I…we were trying to kill you and your wolf, just now. Why? Why did you help me?"

Another pause occurred…

"Because," Luffy began, "whatever's on your back…has nothing to do with our fight."

Blizzard heaved a sigh, but then, his ears twitched. He heard the sound of sad whimpering and slight sniffles. Looking back, he soon found the source of those noises.

Hancock was sitting in her throne, again, but she had her hand over her eyes. Even from where he was standing, Blizzard could see her chewing her bottom lip and small droplets of water escaping her eyes.

The wolf-dog only stared at her in pity. Something told him that Hancock was not as bad a person as he was at first making her out to be.

* * *

><p>Review, please!<p> 


	8. Hoof of the Celestial Dragon

**Ch. 8- Hoof of the Celestial Dragon**

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><p>One Piece © Oda<p>

Blizzard, Daffodil, Hibiscus, and Buttercup © Me

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><p>"Forgive us, big sister!"<p>

"Not only did we lose, but the man ended up saving us!"

After the coliseum had been cleared out, Sandersonia and Marigold had returned to their human forms and were now kneeling before their sister. If Luffy had not done what he did, there was no telling what else could've happened.

"So, uh…" Luffy muttered, looking to Hancock, "am I gonna have to fight you, next?"

_It's almost as if you're looking for another fight,_ Blizzard thought as he sat next to Luffy.

"No," Hancock answered Luffy. "I'm not in the mood anymore."

"Okay," Luffy said before he went to look Marguerite over for any cracks or chips. "It doesn't look like she's broken anywhere. Good thing, huh, Blizzard?"

Blizzard nodded.

"Now," said Luffy as he turned to Hancock, "can you change these three back to normal? You CAN do that, can't you?"

There was a pause.

"Please!" Luffy said. "All they did was stand up for us! They didn't do anything wrong!"

Hancock heaved a sigh, and then she stood up from he throne.

"Yes," she said. "I can, indeed, easily turn them back to the way they once were. However…didn't you say that you and your wolf needed to go somewhere?"

"Yeah," Luffy replied. "Blizzard and I need to get back to our friends."

"Then I will only grant one of these requests," Hancock said.

Luffy let out a small gasp of surprise while Blizzard's jaw dropped.

_Oh, come ON!_ he thought in frustration.

"Either you ask me to return these three to normal," Hancock began, "or we allow you and your beast to leave the island in peace. Choose one and abandon the other, forever."

Blizzard felt sweat seeping through his fur. On one hand, he and Luffy could leave this island and reunite with the rest of the crew on the Sabaody Archipelago. On the other hand, they could save Marguerite, Sweet Pea, and Aphelandra, who saved their lives first.

Which would Luffy choose?

A sickening smirk appeared on Hancock's face.

_Now we will see your true nature, man,_ she thought.

Blizzard turned to Luffy, but what he saw soon shocked.

The raven-haired teen was down on his hands and knees, a wide smile upon his face.

"Thank you!" he said. "You can go ahead and turn them back, now!" He bowed his head down, his hat falling off his hair. "Thank you so much!"

The three sisters gasped, stunned. Once again, this young man had acted completely different from the way they had expected him to.

Blizzard was also left shocked, but then, Luffy grabbed him by his ear and pulled him down, too.

"C'mon, buddy," he said. "You gotta bow, too."

Blizzard stared at Luffy in disbelief, but reluctantly, he sat on his haunches and bowed his head, as well.

In the stands, it is revealed that one person did not leave. It was Nyon, and she had seen everything.

"He did nyot even hesitate," said the elderly woman. "A young man with such a powerful Haki would bow so readily for the sake of those that he is indebted to."

XXX

A few minutes later, at the coliseum exit…

"Marguerite!"

"Sweet Pea!"

"Aphelandra!"

The trio of women that were once stone statues were now back to flesh and blood and were being greeted by their friends.

"AUNTIE MARGUERITE!"

Marguerite turned to see her three nieces, Daffodil, Hibiscus, and Buttercup, all rushing to greet her.

"Girls!" Marguerite said as she knelt down to get a big hug from the triplets.

"Aunt Marguerite, we were so worried!" said Hibiscus.

"Yeah!" agreed Buttercup. "When Auntie Kikyo told us what happened, we were afraid that we'd end up losing you!"

"Yeah, just like Mom!" added Daffodil.

"It's all right, girls," Marguerite said in reassurance. "Your Auntie Marguerite's okay, see?"

"I can't believe it!" said one of the Kuja. "The Snake Princess reversed the petrifaction! We were so worried when you defended the man and his wolf."

"Yes," Kikyo said. "I don't know what I'd do if something awful happened to you three!"

"Petrifaction?" Marguerite repeated.

"What's going on?" asked Aphelandra.

"The saga of: I have no clue," answered Sweet Pea.

_Flashback_

Marguerite was standing before Luffy, who had his hands upon her arms, smiling happily. Aphelandra was holding Blizzard in her arms, receiving big, slobbery kisses.

"Thank goodness!" he said. "I don't what I'd do if something happened to you guys!"

_Flashback end_

"When I came to my senses," Marguerite started, "all I remember is seeing Luffy, and he seemed really happy for some reason."

"That's how it is with the Snake Princess's powers," said Ran. "When you return to normal, you don't remember anything before you were petrified. I'll explain everything later."

"So, Marguerite," said the fat Kuja, Cosmos, "what ever happened to the man and his wolf?"

"And where's the Snake Princess?" asked Daisy. "Did she man and the wolf to stone? ZAHAHAHA!"

"Well, for some odd reason," Marguerite said, "the Snake Princess invited him and Blizzard to the castle."

A silence.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAT?"

XXX

In the Kuja Castle, inside Hancock's throne room, Luffy and Blizzard were now sitting in between Marigold and Sandersonia, the latter of the two pirates fidgeting about in his place.

"So, what do you want with me and Blizzard?" asked Luffy. "Is there gonna be some kind of after-battle banquet or something? If that's the case, then Blizzard and I would be glad to-"

"I suppose I'm indebted to you for what you did, back there," Sandersonia said, cutting Luffy off. "Thank you, man."

"Aw, don't mention it," Luffy said. "Just gimme some food and we'll call it even."

_Honestly,_ Blizzard thought. _You really do with your stomach instead of your brain._

"If the people here ever saw the marks on our backs," Marigold said, "we'd be forced to leave this island forever."

"Man. You and your wolf may enter."

Luffy looked up to the curtain that Hancock had hidden herself behind.

"Come in here," the Warlord said. "Behind the curtain."

Luffy tilted his head in puzzlement, but then, he put on an excited face, a small sliver of drool escaping his lips.

"Oh!" he said. "You got food in there?"

With that in mind, Luffy got up, rushed to the curtain, and pulled it open. Blizzard soon followed, but when he entered, his mouth fell open, and he put his paws over his nose in an attempt to keep the blood from leaking out of his nostrils.

"Uh, hey, sorry to barge in, like this," Luffy said, "but where's the food? And why the heck are you naked?"

Luffy was right. Hancock, who was sitting against her snake throne, had stripped herself of her cape and blouse, revealing her bare upper half.

"You're as crude as ever," said Hancock.

"Huh?" Luffy mumbled.

"Never mind," Hancock said before she put hand to the back of her, and then turned away so that her back was facing Luffy. As she pulled her hair away, she revealed a dark red mark, burned into her skin.

Blizzard, now able to control his nosebleed, eased a bit closer with Luffy to get a better look at the mark.

It was a large circle with three triangles on top and one triangle on the bottom. It looked like some sort of footprint.

"This mark," Hancock said. "You said that you had seen it before, but…take a better look at it, just to make sure."

Luffy cocked his head, making an odd, questioning sound. Blizzard also seemed confused.

"Where did you first see this?" asked Hancock. "Do you have any idea what this mark means?"

"Hmm…" Luffy hummed, putting his thumb to his cheek, thinking.

"Well?" Hancock asked, getting more impatient by the second. "Answer me! This isn't very pleasant for me!"

A pause.

"Oh, wait," Luffy said. "That's not it. That mark is different than the one Blizzard and I saw."

"What?" Hancock questioned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, we have a Fishman friend named Hachi!" Luffy answered. "He had a mark pretty much like yours on his forehead. I guess I mistook it for that. I've never really seen a mark like yours, before. Sorry."

Blizzard nodded in agreement. He remembered seeing a Fishman on the island where he was born, when he and his brothers and sisters were being put up for adoption. The Fishman he saw also had a mark like Hachi's, only it was on the base of his neck and not on his forehead.

"If they really do nyot know what it means," came a familiar voice, "then you should explain it to them!"

Luffy, Blizzard, Sandersonia, and Marigold looked back and saw Nyon enter the room.

"Granny Nyon!" Sandersonia and Marigold said.

"How did you get back in here?" Hancock questioned, her anger taking over her insecurity.

"You've seen with your own eyes that he is a good man," said Nyon. "So just go and explain yourself to him." She then glanced to Luffy and Blizzard. "You two! Are you the pirates known as Monkey D. 'Straw Hat' Luffy and 'White Wolf' Blizzard?"

"Uh-huh," Luffy answered. "How do you know about us?"

Nyon held up a newspaper and said, "You both seem decent enough, in spite of all the chaos you've caused! Look at this paper! A few days ago, at the Sabaody Archipelago, this man was there…and he led a charge against the Celestial Dragons, brutally attacking them! These two fearless pirates have both caused a major incident!"

Hancock's eyes went wide, as did her sisters'.

"The…the Celestial Dragons?"

"After that," Nyon continued, "these two myiraculously escaped the most formidable forces that central had to offer with their lives! They traveled all the way from such a faraway place in just three days! There are things that are beyond my comprehension!"

"Like I said," Luffy said, "Blizzard and I got thrown here by some bear guy and he sent us flying here. We don't even know where we are! And another thing, we don't have any second thoughts about what we did to those damn Celestial Dragon bastards! They deserved it after what they did to Hachi!"

Blizzard snickered at the memory of attacking Salou and urinating on his face once he was unconscious.

"So it's true," Hancock said, her body quivering. "You really did strike the Celestial Dragons."

"Yup," Luffy said, confirming this fact, "and like I said, I don't have any second thoughts. I only punched this one jerk in the face, though. Blizzard attacked their dog and I think Usopp accidentally fell on the old man."

Hancock seemed to shake her head, as if she were refusing to believe one word of what she was hearing, and yet…everything seemed to make sense, now.

Luffy and Blizzard really had attacked the Celestial Dragons.

"I never thought," she began, "that such fools would exist in this world. You're just like him. The hero who challenged the heavens with no regard to his own life!"

_Uh, I'm sorry,_ Blizzard thought. _"Him?"_

"'Him' who?" Luffy questioned.

There was a long silence. Nyon stood in her place. Marigold and Sandersonia shuddered. Blizzard looked around, confused at the sudden change in atmosphere. Luffy just stood next to the wolf-dog, simply waiting for a response from Hancock.

"I'll tell you everything," Hancock said. "Even the history behind the mark of your Fishman friend."

And so, Hancock went and explained everything to Luffy and Blizzard.

The mark on her back was known as the "Hoof of the Celestial Dragon", their crest. The mark is branded into the skin of slaves as a permanent that they were less than human.

Hancock revealed that she, Sandersonia, and Marigold were all once slaves to those pompous windbags, much to Luffy and Blizzard's surprise.

When they were children in their early teens, they had been spirited away from the Kuja Pirate ship and sold into servitude. After they were sold, horrible things began to happen to them. They were under constant torment by their master, the first man that Hancock had ever seen in her life.

It was he who branded her and her sisters with that mark.

Sandersonia broke out into tears as Hancock continued to tell Luffy and Blizzard more of their horrific past, even though Luffy had told her that she didn't have to push herself and say anything else, but the Warlord continued.

As the years, Hancock grew up knowing but hate, anger, fear, and despair, and she would go to sleep, praying that what she had experienced was an awful nightmare that she would wake up from it soon, but with each passing day, she felt that she wanted was Death's cold hand to take her and her sisters away.

Then…a miracle.

One fateful night, after four years of slavery, an incident had occurred that shocked the World Government. Despite the fact that no one could ever stand up against the Celestial Dragons, one sole being climbed up the Red Line with his bare hands and entered the Sacred Land of Mariejois.

He was known as the future leader of a band of Fishman Pirates: a great adventurer known as "Fisher Tiger". He came to the city where so many of his brethren were suffering as slaves. He wreaked great havoc throughout Mariejois, and even though he hated humans as a species, he saved thousands upon thousands of slaves, regardless of who or what they are. Among them, Hancock and her sisters, who fled the city and never looked back.

They owed a debt to Fisher Tiger that could never be repaid.

Afterwards, Tiger unleashed hordes of Fishmen upon the world's seas, but they would forever bear the mark of slavery. Tiger was an outlaw, constantly being dogged by the World Government, so he gathered the fugitives together and formed the Sunny Pirates before setting sail.

To erase the trace of their bondage, the former slaves turned the mark of the Celestial Dragons into the Sunny Pirates' insignia.

Luffy and Blizzard stood surprised, but their expressions were also mixed with understanding.

_Wow,_ Blizzard thought. _Who knew?_

"You must've mistaken the brand on my back," Hancock began, "for the Sunny Pirates' Mark of the Sun."

"Yeah," Luffy said, pointing to his own forehead. "The mark I saw on Hachi's looked like a sun! Does that mean that he used to be a slave, too?"

"Not necessarily," replied Sandersonia.

"Yes," agreed Marigold. "All of Tiger's men took that mark to make it impossible to know which were slaves and which weren't, but he must've belonged to the Sunny Pirates at some point."

"Then, where's this Tiger guy?" Luffy asked.

"Alas, Fisher Tiger has long passed," said Nyon, "and his crew had split into smaller factions."

_That does happen, sometimes,_ Blizzard thought.

"So Hachi must've had a lot of adventures before he met us," said Luffy.

"That's why the marks on our backs and the mark on the Fishman look the same," Marigold said.

"Yeah," Luffy agreed. "I get it…I think."

_Yeah, I get it, too,_ Blizzard thought. _To think that that Fishman I saw when I was little might've once been a slave or a former pirate. Gosh._

"When we were slaves," Hancock explained, "they fed my sisters and I the Love-Love Fruit and the Snake-Snake Fruits as a form of entertainment. Because of our Devil Fruit powers, we've been able to deceive the people of this nation and keep out secret. If you had not done what you did in the coliseum, young man….we would be forced to leave the island." At this, her voice began to break as her pet snake gently placed her blouse and cape upon her back. "I don't want…anyone to know about our past!" She lifted her head, revealing tears cascading from her eyes. "Even if it means that I must lie to my people, I MUST continue this pretense! I don't want ANYONE to control me, EVER AGAIN! That's what I'm truly afraid of! Of being vulnerable to anyone…and I will always will be afraid of that…!"

"Sister," Marigold and Sandersonia said, tears of their own also beginning to fall.

Blizzard felt his heart go out to the three. A slave, he may not have been, but he truly understand Hancock's fear. It was like when Rio and his underlings used to push him around and bully him before he met Luffy. That Doberman was trying to control through the use of fear and power, just like how the Celestial Dragons did to the Gorgon Sisters.

"But it's been such a long time since I've seen you like it," said Nyon. "In recent years, our great Snake Princess has hardly shown her true feelings at all. I was afraid that her heart had grown cyold and icy."

"Silence, you old hag!" Hancock yelled. "You are a TRAITOR to the Kuja!"

"You be silent!" Nyon spat. "Even though you and your sisters managed to escape from Mariejois, you had no clue how you were going to get home, again! When I found you three, you were all nothing but pathetic little wenches! WHO DO YOU THYINK BROUGHT YOU BACK HERE? LUCKY FOR YOU THAT I WAS IN THE OUTER SEAS! DO I NYOT LOVE YOU AS IF YOU WERE ALL MY DAUGHTERS?"

"Yes, yes," Sandersonia and Marigold said, smiling joyfully.

"And you never let us forget it," Hancock said as she turned away from Nyon.

"WHYAT WAS THYAT?" Nyon shouted.

Hancock then turned to Luffy and Blizzard.

"So," she said, "now that you know about our past…do you despise us?"

There was another pause.

"Are you kidding?" Luffy asked. "Of course not! I don't care about anyone's past! I just care about now and in the future!" He turned to Blizzard with a smile and placed his hand on his head. "Right, Blizzard?"

_Yeah,_ Blizzard answered in thought, snickering aloud.

"Besides," Luffy began, "I told you, I don't have any second thoughts about what we did to those Celestial Dragon dudes!"

Hancock felt her heart rate increasing, and she also felt her cheeks gets warm as they flushed a light pink. She then turned to face Luffy again, but this time, instead of a cold, bitter expression that she always had…there was a blush on her cheeks and a soft, genuine smile on her face.

"Ha-ha…" Hancock laughed lightly. "I'm starting to like you! You said you had to go somewhere before, right? Tell me where it is and I shall lend you a ship!"

"REALLY?" Luffy asked, a wide smile appearing on his face and eyes twinkling.

Hancock nodded her head.

Blizzard smiled at Luffy's joy, and inside, he, too, was happy. It appeared that the crew reuniting was going to be inevitable…

…and yet…he couldn't shake this odd feeling that he could be wrong.

* * *

><p>Review, please!<p> 


	9. Decisions

**Ch. 9- Decisions**

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><p>One Piece © Oda<p>

Blizzard, Marguerite's nieces © Me

* * *

><p>When we last left Luffy and Blizzard, our heroes had gained the trust and friendship of Boa Hancock and her sisters, who revealed their horrific past and the meaning behind the Mark of the Sun. Hancock decides to lend the two Straw Hats her ship so that they can sail to the Sabaody Archipelago and get back together with their friends, much to their joy.<p>

However, Blizzard has this odd feeling that things were not going to go as planned.

"Are you seriously gonna give us a ride?" Luffy asked.

"Of course," said Hancock. "You need not to worry. I never tell a lie."

_Thank goodness,_ Blizzard thought.

"That's awesome!" Luffy said. "It doesn't have to be a good ship as long as it can sail!"

"You will be departing tomorrow morning," Hancock said. "The Kuja Pirates will give you and Blizzard a ride on the ship."

"Our pirate ship?" Marigold and Sandersonia questioned.

"Sorry to be a bit of a bother," Luffy said.

"It's fine," Hancock said before she turned toward her own bed. "Until you leave, get plenty of rest."

Luffy just smiled, and then grabbed Blizzard by his front paws and began to dance.

"We're leaving, Blizzard!" he cheered. "YAHOO~!"

**RUFF! RUFF! RUFF!** Blizzard began to bark happily.

Hancock, however, froze at their cheers.

"We're finally gonna get to see the others, again, buddy!" Luffy said. "I can't wait!"

_Me neither!_ Blizzard thought. _I hope Chopper's okay._

Hancock narrowed her eyes. She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt slightly angry.

**RRRUUUUUUUMMMBLE!** Luffy's stomach started growling.

"Oops," said Luffy, sheepishly grinning and scratching at the back of his head. "'Scuse me. Guess I'm kind of hungry."

_Come to think of it,_ Blizzard thought, _I'm kind of hungry, too._

Blizzard's nose twitched at a pungent smell entering his nostrils. Looking up, he soon traced the smell to Luffy. He grimaced and backed about a foot away, covering his paws with his nose.

"What's the matter, buddy?" Luffy asked. He reached up, smelling his own armpits, but then recoiled with a grimace of his own. "Whew! I guess we need a bath, too."

_You think so?_ Blizzard thought, sarcastically.

Hancock smiled at the two and then turned to face them.

"Sonia, Mari," she said. "Escort Luffy and Blizzard to the hot springs. Afterwards, invite them to the banquet."

Upon hearing "banquet", Luffy's attention was immediately caught.

"What?" the two younger sisters said.

"A man at our banquet?" asked Sandersonia.

"Big sister, isn't that…?" Marigold began, but trailed off.

"Do you not understand my requests?" asked Hancock.

"N-no," the sisters said.

"What banquet?" Luffy asked.

"It's a celebratory banquet we hold for the Kuja Pirates' safe return with a big haul," answered Nyon.

"Oh!" Luffy said, a small rope of saliva escaping his lips. "You gonna have meat at this banquet?"

Hancock just turned away, heading for bed.

"Wait," Luffy called. "Aren't you coming?"

"No," Hancock replied. "I'm a bit too tired, right now."

"Suit yourself," Luffy said.

With that, Luffy and Blizzard followed Sandersonia and Marigold out to the hot springs.

XXX

The steaming water of the hot springs glistened in the moonlight. The place seemed a whole lot quieter without all the women crowded around it.

It looked like Luffy and Blizzard were going to have a nice, peaceful bath.

**SPLASH!**

"AAAAAAH! BLIZZARD, HELP! I'M DROWING!"

_Dammit, Luffy! Not again!_

Or not…

Luffy, who had given his smelly clothes to Marguerite to wash, had slipped into the deep end of the hot springs and Blizzard was forced to save him drowning a second time. Once that was over, the two were now sitting in the water, together. They had just finished their bath and just decided to wait for Marguerite to deliver Luffy's clothes to him and relax.

"This sure does feel good, huh, buddy?" Luffy asked Blizzard.

**Grrrff…!** Blizzard let out a sighing growl.

Luffy looked up to the nighttime sky. He saw that crescent moon and the twinkling stars.

Their beauty reminded him of his beloved Nami. He just realized how much he really missed her, now.

He just realized how much he missed everyone, now.

"I wonder where Nami could be," he said aloud. "I really hope she's okay." He heaved a sigh, his voice suddenly sounding sad. "I really hope…everyone's okay."

Blizzard looked at Luffy, his ears hanging besides his head. He knew that Luffy would end up saying something about missing the others.

Being the sincere canine that he was at heart, Blizzard waded through the water and licked Luffy's face, making him chuckle.

"Thanks, Blizzard," said Luffy, scratching his best friend behind the ears.

_It's what I'm for, Luffy,_ Blizzard thought.

Luffy looked back up to the sky, this time with a smile.

"The first thing I'm gonna do when we get back with the others," he began, "is take Nami into my arms and give her a great big kiss…and have Sanji make me a lot of meat until I feel like my tummy's gonna burst."

_I'm gonna eat me an jumbo-sized jar of peanut butter,_ Blizzard thought, licking his chops.

They were unaware that they were being watched by six curious eyes.

"So that's the man?"

"Yeah."

"He's so skinny. It's hard to believe that he and his wolf actually defeated the Gorgon Sisters."

Blizzard's ears twitched and then he looked behind himself. Luffy also looked.

_What was that?_ Blizzard thought.

"Girls!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice of Marguerite, three figures yelped and jumped out of hiding. It was revealed to be her three nieces. Marguerite stood before the three, a stern look in her eyes and Luffy's clean clothes and some towels in the crook of her elbow.

"What have I told you about spying on people?" Marguerite questioned the three sisters.

"But Auntie Marguerite," Hibiscus said, "we just wanted to see the man!"

"Yeah!" agreed Buttercup.

"And his wolf, too!" added Daffodil.

"I don't care!" Marguerite said. "Now, off to Granny Nyon's house with all of you! I'll bring you your dinner later, and after that, it's straight to bed!"

"But Auntie Marguerite-" the girls started.

"No buts!" Marguerite said. "Go!"

With a disappointed groan, the triplets walked away, arms folded in a pout. Marguerite couldn't help but smile at them as they left. At their age, their curiosity was natural.

"Sorry about that, Luffy," Marguerite said as she approached him. "Those three tend to spy on people, but it's only because they're curious at heart, the cute little things."

"It's okay," Luffy said. "Who were those three anyway?"

"My nieces, Hibiscus, Daffodil, and Buttercup," Marguerite said.

"Oh," Luffy said. "I didn't know that you have a sister."

Marguerite's expression suddenly became somewhat distant. She looked away from Luffy, sighing quietly.

"I had a sister," she whispered.

Luffy, sensing that he might've stepped over an emotional boundary, gritted his teeth and raised his hands up.

"H-hey," he said. "I'm sorry, all right. If something happened, then-"

"No, no, Luffy," Marguerite said, her smile returning. "It's fine. It's just…my older sister, Orchid…she disappeared, 5 years ago, and she hasn't been seen since, so I took it upon myself to raise her daughters for her."

_Wow…_ Blizzard thought. _Having your sister disappear for 5 years? That's just upsetting._

"I'm sorry," Luffy said. "I didn't know."

"It's all right," Marguerite said. "For me, having to raise my nieces is like keeping the memory of my sister alive, and even after all these years…I still feel like she might be out there somewhere."

Luffy and Blizzard stared at Marguerite in silence.

"Oh, right!" Marguerite said as she set Luffy's towel and clothes down on the ground. "Here are your clothes, Luffy, and a towel to dry off."

"Thanks," Luffy said. "I guess it is about time we got out now."

"When you're finished, come and meet me at the Kuja Castle," said Marguerite. "That's where the banquet's being held."

"Will do," Luffy said.

XXX

Moments later, the Kuja warriors had gathered into the castle banquet hall. There, they watched in silence (and perhaps a bit of disgust) as Luffy and Blizzard messily ate the dishes that had been set out for them.

Meat, fish, game birds, bread, shellfish, buns, anything Luffy and Blizzard could get their hands or paws on was soon devoured as quick as a wink. Luffy even took some of the other Kuja warriors' food.

Some, such as Marguerite, Sweet Pea, and Aphelandra, were discussing about how he and Blizzard had saved their lives. Others were discussing how they wanted to touch Luffy's rubber body and see how much it stretched.

However, one group was still suspicious of him: Ran, Cosmos, Daisy, and Rindo.

"What in the hell is a man here on our island, Ran?"

"And of all places, he had to be at our banquet!"

"It's hard to believe that the Snake Princess has forgiven him!"

"Perhaps it's a trap," Ran said. "A clever trick laid out by the Snake Princess."

"A trap?"

"Yes," Ran said. "She invited him to the banquet and eat to the point where he can't even move, and then…unleash hell upon him."

"I see, now," Daisy said. "So once he's gotten so lethargic from eating so much, it's up to us to bring hell upon him. ZAHAHAHA!"

**URRRRP!** Luffy let out a satisfied burp while Blizzard continued to chow down on some fried noodles.

**CHINK!** The sound of knives being drawn was heard, and Blizzard's sensitive ears soon picked up the noise. A glint appeared in his cherry blossom eyes as he looked to Ran and the others.

"Uh-oh," Daisy said. "I think the wolf might be on to us."

**SLUUUURRP!** Blizzard slurped up the fried noodles, but he still didn't take his eyes off the group of Kuja warriors.

A long pause occurred.

"All right! That does it!"

Everyone in the room looked up and saw Luffy, his stomach now big and round from his gorging, holding a pan and ladle.

"Oh, no!" Ran gasped. "He must've noticed!"

"Does he plan on fighting us with the pan and ladle?" asked Cosmos.

"That definitely sounds like something a man would do," Rindo said. "Don't drop your guard!"

With that, Ran, Rindo, Daisy, and Cosmos charged at Luffy, armed with knives. However, their path was soon blocked when Blizzard jumped up on the table, as well, growling and snarling, forcing the Kuja warriors to stop in their tracks.

"I was right!" Daisy said. "The wolf was on to us!"

Blizzard continued to growl at the women, prepared to lash out at them if they attempted to get passed him, but then…

"Why aren't you people singing?"

Everybody turned their attention back to Luffy.

"S…singing?" Ran repeated.

"Yeah," Luffy replied. "This is a banquet, right?"

"Well, yes, but-" Daisy started.

"Listen, you guys!" Luffy shouted. "This is what your supposed to do at banquets!"

**KLANG! KLANG!** Luffy started to bang the pan with the ladle, dancing on the table, before he started to sing.

"**Yo-ho-ho-ho,**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho!**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho,**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho!**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho,**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho!**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho,**

**Yo-ho-ho-ho!"**

Blizzard smiled at Luffy, now getting the message.

_**ARRROOOOOOOOO!**_ He started to howl along to the song, his voice sounding more off-key than Luffy's.

"**Gather up all of the crew,**

**Time to ship out Binks's Brew!**

**Sea winds blow, to where, who knows?**

**The waves will be our guide!**

**O'er across the ocean's tide,**

**The sunset is goin' wild!**

**See the sky! The birds singing in circles, passing by!"**

Soon, the room was filled with waves of laughter at Luffy and Blizzard's performance. They had never seen such a funny and entertaining, before, and now, they were glad they did.

This man and his dog had shown them the first step to having fun, and this was only the beginning.

As the night went on, Luffy and Blizzard showed the Kuja warriors how do the Chopsticks-and-Basket Dance. Kikyo said it was rather vulgar, but inside, she found it rather humorous, as well.

Luffy stuffed himself to the point where he was bloated like a balloon, again, and even drew a funny face on his stomach.

Blizzard absolutely loved getting petted and spoiled by the Kuja, who marveled at how soft and smooth his fur was.

However, things began to get a bit too much for the two Straw Hats.

Luffy found his skin getting pulled on by the Kuja, who wanted to see how stretchy he was before and Blizzard left tomorrow morning, and because of this, he couldn't eat as much as he wanted to, and no matter how many times he asked, they wouldn't leave him alone. Some were even charging money to have him looked at!

Blizzard found himself with the same problem. Some of the women were starting to pet him a bit too hard, almost the point where they were pulling his skin back and pulling some clumps of his fur out.

_I've heard of too much love,_ thought Blizzard, _but…THIS IS RIDICULOUS!_

"GO AWAY!" Luffy yelled. "I CAN'T EAT WITH ALL OF YOU PULLING AT ME!"

At that, Luffy and Blizzard made a desperate break for it to get away from the women, the former of the two grabbing a huge leg of mutton on his way out.

Luckily for them that they had a friend to lend them a hand.

XXX

"Phew! Finally, I thought we'd never lose those crazy girls. Thanks, again."

"Don't mention it."

After about an hour of running, Luffy and Blizzard found salvation in Marguerite, who helped them escaping from the mob of obsessed Kuja. They were now standing on the rooftops of the city.

"This little morsel of meat was all I could get," Luffy said, referring to the leg of mutton he had strapped to his back.

_THAT'S a morsel?_ Blizzard thought, questioningly.

"Come," Marguerite said. "Follow me."

Luffy and Blizzard nodded before they followed Marguerite, jumping along the rooftops.

"So, Luffy," Marguerite began, "are you happy that you and Blizzard will be able to reunite with your friends?"

"Huh?" Luffy muttered. "Oh! Yeah! We sure are!"

**Woof!** Blizzard barked in agreement.

"You've been a really big help to us since we got here, Marguerite," Luffy said. "Sorry we got you turned to stone, though. We were really worried about you."

Marguerite turned to Luffy with a smile.

"And you both fought for me," she said. "I heard about it from the other Kuja. I didn't get the chance to say this before but…thank you, Luffy."

**Arf!** Blizzard barked, again, making Marguerite giggle.

"Of course," she said. "You, too, Blizzard."

_Just doing my thing,_ Blizzard thought, smiling happily.

XXX

"Yes, Marguerite?"

"Luffy and Blizzard are very popular with the girls, Granny Nyon."

"Hey, there, bean lady!"

"Well, it's only nyatural that they're curious. They have nyever seen a man before, but they can relax, nyow. We're on the outskirts of the city. AND WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BEAN?"

Marguerite had brought Luffy and Blizzard to Nyon's house in the outskirts of the village. Luffy settled down on the floor, eating a bit of his mutton, while Blizzard just lied down, preparing to get himself a good night's rest.

"I see you brought your own food," said Nyon. "Marguerite, go and make Luffy some tea."

"All right," Marguerite said. "But first, let me check on my nieces. They're upstairs in the guest bedroom, right?"

"Nyaturally," Nyon answered.

As Marguerite went upstairs to go check up on her nieces, Luffy continued to eat. He noticed that Nyon was reading a newspaper.

"You really like reading the paper, don't you?" Luffy asked with a mouthful. "You're like my navigator, Nami."

"The Nyews Coos do nyot come to the Calm Byelt," Nyon answered, "so nyews is hard to come by here, but since the empress is one of the Seven Warlords, it's good to be well informed."

"One of the Seven Warlords?" Luffy repeated. "Who?"

"The Snake Princess," Nyon answered.

Luffy gagged, his meat almost going down the wrong pipe, but once he swallowed, he managed to catch his breath.

"WHAAAAAAT?" cried Luffy. "THAT SNAKE LADY IS ONE OF THE SEVEN WARLORDS? SHE MUST BE CRAZY STRONG!"

_Now he gets it,_ Blizzard thought, sleepily.

"You're a pirate and yet you do nyot knyow?" questioned Nyon.

"I-I guess not," Luffy answered.

"You don't read the newspaper?" asked Nyon.

"I read the funnies," Luffy said.

"What a surprise," Nyon said. "The Snake Princess became our empress, as well as the captain of the Kuja Pirates, 11 years ago. She was still quite young, but one expedition was enough to put a bounty of 80,000,000 Berries on her head. The name of 'Kuja' was already infamous, and the people of central became very fearful of the Snake Princess, thus quickly naming her one of the Seven Warlords, but it appears that now, she's in danger of losing that title."

"But why?" Luffy asked.

"Because," Nyon started, "she has been summoned to go into war at Marineford between the Marines, the Warlords, and the Whitebeard Pirates."

"WHAAAAAAAAT?" Luffy shouted, again.

_Will you freaking stop with the shouting?_ Blizzard thought. _I'm trying to sleep, over here!_

"Now, hang on!" Luffy said, frantically. "Y-you just gave me too much information at once! The Warlords and the Marines are joining forces to fight against the Whitebeard Pirates? But why? How? What's gonna happen?"

"I can nyot believe you!" Nyon said. "Your ignorance is unbelievable! It's probably just a hunch, but I believe that war is coming!"

Marguerite returned with a cup of tea for Luffy, who took the cup and drank.

"Thanks," he said to blonde-haired girl.

"The World Government knows that Whitebeard will nyot allow one of his crewmates to get executed," Nyon explained, "but nonetheless, they've announced the public execution Whitebeard's powerful underling, Portgas D. Ace!"

Luffy's eyes went wide, and Blizzard soon switched into full alert mode.

"W…who?" Luffy asked.

"Ace," Nyon repeated. "Portgas D. 'Fire Fist' Ace."

Luffy felt his heart sinking into his gut. Perhaps even lower.

He remembered when he had been having those nightmares about Ace getting killed, and now, he finally realized what they meant.

"Ace…" Luffy whispered. "Ace is gonna get executed?"

_Fire Fist…_ Blizzard thought.

"It appears that a pirate named 'Blackbeard'," Nyon began, "had captured 'Fire Fist' Ace, and because of that, he was recently named one of the Seven Warlords."

A pause came.

"Also," Nyon said, "the people of central have caught a huge fish. They're going to take advantage of it and-"

"Granny! Granny!" Luffy cried, grabbing Nyon by her shoulders. "He's my brother! 'Fire Fist' Ace is my big brother!"

"What?" Nyon asked.

Marguerite gasped.

"Is it true?" asked Nyon. "Is he really your big brother?"

"I didn't know he got captured!" Luffy exclaimed. "I didn't know he was gonna get executed, either! He's in big trouble!"

"Hmm," Nyon hummed. "If Whitebeard wins this war, then maybe he'll be able to rescue your brother."

"What am I gonna do?" Luffy asked. "Where are they gonna kill him?"

"They will do it an open square in the city of Marineford, a town governed by Marine Headquarters. It saws they're going to execute six days from now."

"WHAT?" Luffy questioned. "But that's so soon!"

"Luffy, please, quiet down," Marguerite pleaded. "My nieces are sleeping!"

"How long will it take for Blizzard and me to get to the Sabaody Archipelago from here?" Luffy asked.

"A week," Nyon replied.

"But Ace will be died before I can get to my friends!" Luffy remarked. "How far is Ace from here?"

"He's being held in Impel Down," Nyon replied, "so from here, it would take you a week by pirate ship and four days by a Marine ship!"

"Why?" Luffy asked. "Is a Marine ship that much faster?"

"There is a special ocean current that only World Government ships can use," Nyon explained, "Enies Lobby, Impel Down, Marine Headquarters…a giant swirling current connects these three government facilities. Each of them have the Gates of Justice. When the gates are opened, the current speeds travel between the facilities. However, if the gates remain closed, you'll continue to ride on the whirling current, indefinitely."

_That's not good,_ Blizzard thought.

"Pirate ships have to avoid the current," Nyon continued, "so they are forced to take a detour."

"What should I do?" Luffy questioned himself as he reached into the ribbon of his hat from which he pulled…Ace's Vivre Card.

It was even smaller than the last time he saw it. Last month, it was about the size of his pinky finger. Now, it was about the size of his little toe, and it was still burning away.

"Is that your brother's Vivre Card?" asked Nyon.

"Isn't that the scrap of moving paper that was so important to you?" Marguerite asked.

"No," Luffy answered. "It's a different one. It's Ace's."

"The Vivre Card is also called 'Life Paper'," Nyon explained. "It shows the owner's direction and vitality."

Marguerite gasped.

"If it's that small…!" she whispered.

Luffy turned and walked away from Nyon and Marguerite. Blizzard, concerned, stood up and followed him, walking beside him with a worried expression.

_I think I know what this means,_ he thought, _and I don't like it._

Luffy looked down at the Vivre Card, his eyes concealed beneath the rim of his hat. He knew that Ace had his own adventures and that he'd probably get mad at him for trying to help him, but he felt like had no choice. Ace was his big brother…the only one he had.

However, if he was going to rescue Ace…then that meant that he had to postpone one thing: the Straw Hats' reunion.

**Whine.** Blizzard whined as he nudged Luffy's hand, looking up at him, sadly. Luffy absentmindedly petted the wolf-dog on the head.

"Sorry, buddy," said Luffy, "but it looks like the others are gonna have to wait."

Blizzard heaved a sigh.

_I knew it._

"Granny!" Luffy called as he turned to Nyon. "Blizzard and I have to go save Ace!"

"You're making a rather reckless decision," said Nyon.

_Being reckless is what he's known for,_ Blizzard thought. _That's why I gotta go with him._

"A terrible war is about to break out," Nyon began, "and you and your wolf will be right in the middle of it. You two would be like ants diving into a monsoon and will only end up getting swept away."

"I don't care what the hell happens to me!" Luffy barked. "I HAVE to do this! I can't just sit here and let them kill my big bro! NO WAY!"

"Well," said Nyon, "its one-in-a-million chance, but you should head for the Great Prison. Once your brother is on that execution platform in Marineford, he'll be surrounded by Marine soldiers, Vice-Admirals, Admirals, and Warlords. It will be impossible for you to save him, then. Even so, your brother is a top priority prisoner, right now. He'll be subjected to the most intense security the prison can devised. You and your wolf probably won't even make it into the facility."

"I'll worry about it, later!" Luffy said. "First, I gotta find some way to get there in time! Blizzard and I have to get to that prison while Ace is still there! Maybe if we can find a huge oar, we can row all the way!"

_THAT'S your plan?_ Blizzard questioned in thought.

"Now, hold on," Nyon said. "Some problems can't be solved by force, you know. This might be a big gamble, but the Snake Princess has refused a summons of the Warlords. If she were to accept it, you two might be able to go to Impel Down aboard the Marine battleship."

"There's a Marine battleship here?" Luffy asked. "If that's the case, then I better go ask about it! Blizzard! Let's go!"

**RUFF!** Blizzard barked in agreement.

XXX

Another hour later, Luffy, Blizzard, and Nyon had arrived at the Kuja Castle. When they entered, however, they were soon met by Enishida, who seemed rather panicked.

"Granny Nyon!" Enishida cried.

"What's wrong, Enishida?" asked Nyon.

"Thank goodness you're here!" Enishida said. "I was just about to call you!"

"Eh?" Nyon muttered. "Why? What's the matter?"

"It's the Snake Princess!" Enishida answered. "She needs help! She's fallen victim to an unknown illness and has suddenly collapsed!"

Luffy, Blizzard, and Nyon all let out a simultaneous gasp of shock.

_Oh…crap…_ Blizzard thought.

* * *

><p>Review, please!<p> 


	10. Love is A Hurricane

**Ch. 10- Love is A Hurricane**

* * *

><p>One Piece © Oda<p>

Blizzard © Me

* * *

><p>Hancock laid in her bed, her breathing labored and pained. She had her hand clutching at her chest, her heartbeat irregular. She also had a horrible fever.<p>

All she could mutter was, "It hurts…!"

Marigold and Sandersonia stood by her bedside, obviously worried about the wellbeing of their elder sister. Belladonna was also there with a medical kit, trying to trying to see what may be ailing the Pirate Empress.

Nyon entered the room, but she Luffy and Blizzard stay outside for some reason.

"Whyat is wrong with her, Belladonna?" asked Nyon.

"I'm not entirely sure," Belladonna replied. "She appears to have a fever, and she keeps clutching at her chest, so I believe something may be wrong with her heart, but to be honest, I don't think that's the case. I've never seen symptoms like these before. I-I don't even know what medicine to prescribe her! All I know is that she's in terrible pain!"

"Not just that," Enishida began, "but she refuses to eat even a tiny morsel!"

Hancock continued to pant. This pain that she was feeling was just unbearable.

Nyon hummed, deep in thought.

_I wyonder…_ she thought.

"Tomorrow morning," Nyon muttered.

Hancock cried out, painfully clutching at her chest, again.

"Mon…"

Hancock arched her back, crying out in even more pain.

"Lu…"

"AAAAAAAAAAH!" Hancock screamed out.

"Snake Princess?" Belladonna cried.

"Granny Nyon!" Sandersonia barked. "Stop teasing her! Can't you see that Hancock's in agony?"

"I am NYOT teasing her!" Nyon said before she turned to Hancock. "How could this happen, and nyow, of all times?"

"How could what happen?" Marigold questioned.

"What's going on, Granny Nyon?" Sandersonia asked.

"This virus strikes out nyowhere!" answered Nyon.

"A virus?" Belladonna repeated.

"You know of it?" Enishida added.

"Granny Nyon," Hancock said through labored breaths. "It hurts. Am I…am I going to die?"

Nyon stared Hancock in the eye.

"Yes," she answered. "I'm afraid it fyatal."

"What?" cried Marigold. "What are you saying, Granny Nyon? This is no time to be playing jokes!"

"This is definitely no joke!" Nyon remarked. "The previous empress died of this illness, as did the empress before her. Truth be told, I, too, had been afflicted by this illness, but I managed to survive by fleeing this land." She turned back to Hancock. "Snake Princess. Monkey D. Luffy is here, with me. He'd like to ask you for a favor. Will you hear what he has to say?"

"Granny Nyon, are you mad?" Sandersonia questioned. "Should you even be speaking to Hancock in her condition?"

"Enough!"

Everyone in the room gasped. Hancock…was standing, on her own.

"Sister…" Marigold whispered. "You're able to stand?"

"Where is Luffy?" Hancock asked Nyon.

"He and Blizzard are outside, waiting for you," Nyon replied.

"Outside" was all Hancock needed to hear before she out of the room in a flash.

Nyon stared in disbelief, as did everyone.

_This is truly a stroke of luck,_ Nyon thought. _Monkey D. Luffy…will you be the one to myove this myountain?_

XXX

Outside of Hancock's quarters, Luffy and Blizzard were there, waiting.

"Luffy?"

Luffy and Hancock looked over and saw Hancock approaching.

"You need something from me?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Luffy said. "I do, but…you're sick, right? Are you feeling okay, now?"

"There is no illness I can overcome," said Hancock.

Inside, Sandersonia and Marigold were peering through a window, watching the three.

"Listen, I need your help," Luffy said. "You see, there's this pirate named 'Ace', and he works under Whitebeard, and he's gonna be executed in six days! You see…he's my big brother, the only one I have…and Blizzard and I HAVE to go save him! The only problem is…we'll never reach Ace in time aboard a pirate ship. So…would you get on that Marine battleship that came for you and take me and Blizzard to the prison where Ace is being held?"

_You forgot to throw in a 'please', Luffy,_ Blizzard thought.

"WHAT?"

Blizzard looked up and saw Sandersonia and Marigold, throwing the window open, pissed as hell.

"WHAT NONSENSE IS THIS, 'STRAW HAT' LUFFY?" questioned an outraged Sandersonia.

"YOU KNOW OF OUR SISTER'S EMOTIONAL SCARS," Marigold began, "AND YET YOU WANT HER TO GO TO THAT HORRIED PLACE? HOW HEARTLESS CAN YOU BE?"

"IS THIS HOW YOU REPAY OUR KINDNESS?" Sandersonia yelled. "WE SHOULD'VE KNOWN! YOU MEN ARE ALIKE!"

"YOU'VE TRIED HANOCK'S PATIENCE LONG ENOUGH!" Marigold spat. "YOU AND YOUR BEAST SHOULD BE TURNED TO STONE AND THRONE INTO THE SEA! DO IT, NOW, SISTER!"

"Silence!" Hancock snapped at her two sisters as she shot a glare at them.

Sandersonia and Marigold soon became quiet.

_Good grief,_ thought Blizzard. _And I thought Nami was scary when she got mad._

Hancock then turned back to Luffy.

"You want me," she began, "to accept the summons of the Seven Warlords?"

"Yeah," Luffy answered.

"Is this what you wish?" asked Hancock.

"Yeah," Luffy answered, again.

A pause.

Then, Hancock's lips upturned into a small smile. Her eyes began to sparkle, and her cheeks blushed a faint pink.

"Then I will go…where you wish!" she said.

"So you'll do it?" Luffy asked. "Thanks! Maybe now, Blizzard and I will make it in time to save Ace!"

Blizzard, meanwhile, was shocked beyond words as he stared at Hancock's face. That sparkle in her eyes. That smile. That blush! He'd recognize those things anywhere!

He saw the same look on Luffy's face when he had fallen for Nami!

_Oh, no…_ Blizzard thought. _If Nami ever finds out about this, Luffy's never gonna hear the end of it!_

Nyon and the Gorgon Sisters were just as shocked as Blizzard was. It felt like a powerful wind had struck them and taken them by surprise.

"I can't believe that sister had decided to go to Central!" Sandersonia exclaimed.

"But…I don't understand!" Marigold added. "Granny Nyon…what's going on? What's happening to Hancock?"

"The illness that has afflicted the Snake Princess," Nyon explained, "is known as…Love Sickness! The previous empress had died, yearning for love! There's a saying that goes around in the East Blue! LOVE IS ALWAYS A HURRICANE!"

Hancock simply stood and watched as Luffy laughed in joy. She felt her heart beating over time as she gazed at his bright smile and let his laughter fill her ears.

XXX

"What's come over me?" Hancock asked. "I can't help doing whatever Luffy asks! I…I agreed to Central without thinking it over, first, and yet…I don't mind!"

Hancock was back in her room with Nyon, who stood on her bed in front of her.

"That, Hancock," Nyon replied, "is the power of love! The pain you feel when you and Luffy are separated will weaken you and eventually kill you! The previous empresses of this land ruined themselves by suppressing those feelings. By choosing to go with that man, you have saved your own life! If you go to the Government and defend your title as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, you will be defending this nyation, as well as helping Monkey D. Luffy!"

Hancock simply nodded in understanding.

_I don't know what kind of stare he was born under,_ Nyon thought, _but normally, the only way a pirate can ever visit the Great Prison, Impel Down, is by getting arrested…I hope that boy knyows what he's getting himself and his wolf into._

* * *

><p>Sorry that it's kind of short.<p>

Review, please!


	11. The Departure for Hell

**Ch. 11- The Departure for Hell**

* * *

><p>One Piece © Oda<p>

Blizzard © Me

* * *

><p>The crowd was roaring with cheers as they gathered at the pier of Amazon Lily. The Kuja pirate ship was getting ready to sail…at least, for a short distance. The reason being was being was because Luffy and Blizzard were preparing to depart with Hancock.<p>

"Master Luffy!"

"Luffy~!"

"I thought you and Blizzard weren't going to leave till tomorrow morning!"

"I didn't even get to touch you, yet!"

"I heard that Luffy and Blizzard's destination has changed. They're going with the Snake Princess on the Government ship!"

"Really? Wow!"

Marguerite, Sweet Pea, and Aphelandra were giving their personal farewells to Luffy and Blizzard, who sat atop the head of one of the Yuda.

Marguerite had a last minute gift for Blizzard: a pair of golden anklets to wear on his paws. She claimed that they brought good luck to the wearer.

"Promise me you'll never take them off," Marguerite said.

Blizzard nodded his head in agreement, as if to say, "I promise."

"Thanks for everything, you guys," said Luffy. "When we come back to visit, I'll being my friends with me! Uh…if that's okay."

Marguerite chuckled warmly and said, "I think for you and your friends, we can make an exception." At that, she and her friends suddenly turned. "Oh, look!"

"The saga of: she has arrived!" Sweet Pea added.

A little puppy and a baby seal were seen on the ground, playing.

"Who put this puppy and this baby seal in my way?"

**THWAK! WHAK!** Hancock kicked the little animals out of her way. They were soon picked up by one of the Kuja.

"Forgive me, Snake Princess! It was my fault!"

"Be more careful in the future."

The crowd began to swoon and cheer at the sight of their empress.

"She's even more beautiful, now~!"

"Her elegance and charm knows no bounds! AAAAAHHHH!"

"Hey, Snake Lady!"

Hancock looked up to see Luffy waving at her.

"Thanks for doing this on such short notice!" he cried. "I hope we can get to the prison as fast as possible!"

Hancock turned away with a blush on her cheeks.

_I can't bear to look him in the eye,_ she thought.

"Luffy, don't call her 'Snake Lady'!" Marguerite called. "It's rude! Call her 'Snake Princess'!"

As Hancock and her snake, Salome, prepared to board the ship, she put a hand to her blushing face and simply said, "Please…just call me 'Hancock'."

The crowd burst into cheers, once again.

"Okay, Hammock," said Luffy.

"That's _Hancock_," Hancock corrected.

_Don't bother trying to correct him,_ Blizzard thought.

The Kuja swooned and sighed at the sight of Hancock's small smile.

"How many carats is that shine of hers? HOW MANY CARATS?"

One of the Kuja fainted. She couldn't handle the Pirate Empress' beauty for another second.

"Oh, to see a woman in love~!" Nyon whispered in adoration. "There was once a time when I was like that!"

"Uh, Granny Nyon? Your face suddenly got creepy."

"OH, QUIET YOU!"

The Kuja pirate ship soon left its docks, taking Luffy, Blizzard, and Hancock with it.

"Goodbye, Snake Princess!"

"Farewell, Luffy!"

"We'll miss you, Blizzard!"

"Come back again, soon!"

Four of the Kuja were waving goodbye with chopsticks up their noses, like Luffy had them during the banquet.

"Goodbye, Luffy!"

"OH, KNOCK IT OFF!" Kikyo snapped.

Luffy just chuckled as he and Blizzard waved goodbye to their new friends.

XXX

A moment later, Hancock was now boarding the Marine battleship, where Momonga was waiting for her. Around her neck was Blizzard, who lung limp as a rag doll with his eyes closed. It was all part of a ruse to fool Momonga: hiding in plain sight as a wolf-skin scarf.

He was forced to take off his beloved chain in order to avoid suspicion. For the moment, at least.

Hancock did have a bit off difficulty keeping herself balanced, but she managed to keep the wolf-dog on her shoulders.

"The conditions are exactly as I described over the Transponder Snail," Hancock said.

"Then only you and the snake are coming, eh?" inquired Momonga, biting on piece of Sea King meat. "As for stopping by the Great Prison, Impel Down…it's been approved. Under normal circumstances, no pirate is ever allowed near it, not even the Seven Warlords. However, this time will be an exception, but I'm afraid that we won't be able to stay there for very long. Now, come aboard."

One of the Yudas let Hancock descend from its head and onto the Marine battleship.

"It was definitely worth the wait," said Momonga. "Now I can fulfill my mission."

Hancock scoffed as she and Salome walked/slithered passed him.

"Still," Momonga started, "considering how opposed you were to coming earlier, you still made the right decision-"

**GRRRUUUUMMMMBLE!**

Hancock froze at the sound of that rumbling.

Momonga simple smirked.

"Even the feared Pirate Empress is still human," he said. "Even your stomach growls in hunger."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Hancock barked. "An empress, such as myself, would never make such disgusting sounds!"

"Then was that rumbling I heard?" Momonga questioned.

"I…it was me," Hancock answered with some hesitation as she kept walking.

**GRRRRROOOOOWWL!** The rumbling noise was heard again.

"Shh…! Quiet, tummy…!"

"Luffy?" Hancock asked, her voice soft.

Inside Hancock's cloak, it was revealed that Luffy was hiding inside in order for him to stow away. Unfortunately, his bottomless stomach chose that moment to start growling.

"I'm sorry," Luffy whispered. "All of those girls were chasing me, so I couldn't get enough to eat!"

_Why am I not surprised?_ Blizzard questioned in thought, irritably.

"Luffy," Hancock whispered. "If Momonga discovers you and Blizzard here, there will be no recourse. I promise, I'll give you something to eat later. For now, you must endure it."

"Okay," Luffy whispered back.

"Also," Hancock started, "it's getting harder to walk with you hanging on to me like this, and carrying Blizzard on my shoulders isn't really helping that much. Do you think that you could climb up by back a bit higher?"

"You mean like this?" Luffy asked as he tried to climb up.

Hancock let out a small gasp as she felt a slight brushing motion around her chest, but she regained her composure.

Momonga, on the other hand, noticed this and went up to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Do you have a fever? Are you sick? Why is your face red?"

"It's nothing," Hancock said.

Momonga hummed questioningly, but simply shrugged it off and then turned to his frozen men.

"Now," he said, "about the matter of my troops. They're not dead, are they? Can you reverse the effect?"

Just then, Blizzard's nose twitched. Hancock's hair was tickling his nose. He started to scrunch up his muzzle in an attempt to get rid of the itch in his nostrils, but it didn't seem to help.

**ACHOO!** Blizzard let out a big sneeze, causing Hancock to grit her teeth in nervousness. Luckily, the wolf-dog managed to return to his limp state once Momonga turned his attention back to Hancock.

"What was that?" asked the Vice-Admiral.

"It was me!" Hancock exclaimed.

Momonga narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. Hancock looked at Blizzard, then back at the Marine.

**ACHOO!** She let out a fake sneeze.

"This cold night air is bad for me," said Hancock. "I fear I might be catching a cold!"

Momonga turned away from Hancock and back at his troops.

"That was close," Luffy whispered. "I was afraid he'd catch us, for sure, this time."

"It appears that I've managed to deceive him, somehow," Hancock said.

"There's something strange going on, here."

Hancock turned to Momonga, who approached her with eyes narrowed, suspiciously.

"First, you refuse the summons of the Warlords," Momonga said. "Then, you change your mind and decide to come. What's going on here, Hancock?"

_Uh-oh…_ Blizzard thought. _Sounds like he's on to us._

Luffy just decided not to say anything, out of fear that they would get caught.

"Are you implying that I have something to hide?" Hancock said. "I am simply coming for the good of my country." She then made a sly grin. "But if you doubt me, then go ahead. Search me and prove that I am wrong."

Momonga and Hancock soon came into a stare down.

_Is she outta her mind?_ Blizzard thought.

"Don't do that…!" Luffy whispered. "That's too risky…!"

A pause came.

"Fine," Momonga said. "I believe you." He turned back to his men. "Now…return my men to flesh and blood."

"As you wish," Hancock said as she approached the Marines. She raised her hand up to her lips. "Awaken," she said.

**FWOO~!** She blew a kiss from her hand.

The Marines returned to flesh and blood, still swooning over Hancock's beauty.

"HANCO-"

**THUD!** The sea men soon fell on the deck.

"Huh?"

"What just happened?"

"Why am I drooling?"

"Get underway, you fools!" Momonga barked.

"Aye-aye, sir!"

With that, the Marines prepared to set sail.

"Sister!" Sandersonia called from the Kuja pirate ship. "Please, be careful out there!"

"And come back alive!" added Marigold.

"Good luck, Snake Princess!"

"And you, too, Luffy and Blizzard…!" some Kuja whispered.

"I must be going, now," said Hancock. "I entrust the kingdom to you while I am away."

"You can count on us!" declared the Gorgon Sisters.

With that, the Kuja pirate ship sailed back to Amazon Lily.

Hancock was being escort to her own private quarters on the ship by Momonga.

"I'll have someone bring you something to eat, later," he said. "For now, please stay in these quarters until we arrive at our destination."

At that, Momonga left Hancock to be alone.

Hancock took a look at her surroundings. The room was decorated rather nicely with pink walls and drapes. There was a lounge by the porthole window, a coffee table in the middle of the room surrounded by two armchairs and a sofa, a stove and teapot, and a bed.

Apparently, the Marines thought that Hancock should be treated more like a guest than a prisoner.

"Luffy," Hancock said. "You can come out now."

Luffy appeared from Hancock's cloak, heaving a sigh and stretching his legs. Blizzard also jumped off from Hancock's shoulders and stretched his muscles, as well.

"That was a close one," said Luffy. "I really thought that guy was gonna notice us! Sure was scary! Huh, Blizzard?"

Blizzard nodded.

"Until we arrive at Impel Down," Hancock began, "we cannot leave this room, Luffy. The Marines must not know of yours or Blizzard's presence if we are to arrive safely."

"Okay," said Luffy. "Gonna be pretty boring though. What about my food?"

"You'll be fed, soon," Hancock said. "Until we reach Impel Down, you and Blizzard must get some rest."

Luffy nodded, now realizing how tired he was. He went over to the lounge, laid down, and before long, he drifted off into slumber.

Blizzard followed his master's lead and lied next to him, curling up into a ball of white fur and closing his eyes. Luffy draped around Blizzard's neck and lightly snored.

"Sleep well, Luffy," Hancock whispered before she, too, decided to retire for the night. She turned off the lights and headed for bed.

Blizzard, however, was the only one who was not really asleep.

_Impel Down,_ the wolf-dog thought. _If the rumors about that place are true…then that means Luffy and I…are headed straight for Hell._

And so, Monkey D. Luffy and "White Wolf" Blizzard, with the help of "Pirate Empress" Boa Hancock, were soon en route to the Great Underwater Gaol: Impel Down. There, their strength would be put to the limit…and they would have to be stronger than ever before in the hope that they would rescue Portgas D. Ace from execution.

From this point on…there was no turning back.

* * *

><p>Well, that's done!<p>

I'll be starting on the **Impel Down Trials** on Saturday!

Until then, review please!


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